Two-day conference on saving rivers, haors, beels starts Friday
The goal of the conference is to draw the attention of people to the environmental crisis concerning the country’s rivers, haors and beels
Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa) and Bangladesh Environment Network (BEN) are going to organise a two-day environmental conference on Friday to raise awareness to save the country's rivers, haors, and beels.
Organisers say a mass rally will be held on Friday from 9am to 5pm at the Central Shaheed Minar, Dhaka with the participation of the representatives of different public and private organisations from across the country.
Besides, a seminar will be organised titled "Haors, Rivers and Beels of Bangladesh: Problems and Remedies" on Saturday at the Kazi Motahar Hossain Building, Dhaka University.
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The goal of the conference is to draw the attention of people to the environmental crisis concerning the country's rivers, haors, beels etc. Both Bapa and Bangladesh Environment Network have put forward some recommendations to solve the crisis which will also be presented at the two-day event, the organisers said at a press conference at the Dhaka Reporters Unity on Wednesday.
Khandakar Bazlul Haque, convener of the conference and vice president of Bapa, said, "Our government has not understood the issue of the environment. Even the governments of Europe and America have not tried to understand the issue. As a result, the environment is on the verge of destruction all over the world today. We will work to save the country's environment."
He further said, "We are not against development. But we never want development that destroys the environment."
Nazrul Islam, founder of Bangladesh Environment Network, said at the press conference, "The main reason for holding the conference is to unite the people of the country and work together to protect the environment. The whole world is moving away from coal-based energy, but our government has declared the use of coal as one of the main sources of electricity for the country, which is very dangerous and causes serious damage to the environment."
"We tried to convince the government about the hazards of coal-based power projects by providing various facts. But the government did not listen to our concerns," he added.
Ahmed Kamruzzaman Majumdar, joint secretary of Bapa, said, "Haors and beels are important parts of the river system of the country. Most of the haors are located in the northeastern region of the country. But regrettably, this system is now facing various crises."
