Geological survey must before dev work in hilly areas
The recent landslides in five districts took place due to a failure of the administration, said leading geologists, anthropologists and disaster management experts yesterday.
They said the state's policy and political attitude towards Chittagong Hill Tracts paved way for the disaster there, as the government has failed to tackle the calamity and its aftermath.
To prevent recurrence of such incidents, the experts called for preserving natural forests and building infrastructure by conducting a proper geological survey.
They were addressing a roundtable on “Pahardhosh: Keno, Ki Koronio” (Hill slide: why, and ways forward), organised by Prothom Alo at the newspaper's office in the capital.
Prof Humayun Akhter of Geology department of Dhaka University said landslide is a natural phenomenon but people's ignorant activities had acted as a catalyst for the recent disaster.
Geological aspects of the hilly areas have to be noted carefully while building infrastructure there, he recommended.
Former chief forest conservator Yunus Ali said geological and ecological aspects of the hilly areas were overlooked in the development model which had been in use for the CHT since 1976.
Prothom Alo Editor Matiur Rahman, who moderated the event, said fear of fresh landslides still remained in the CHT areas due to incessant rain in the last six days.
He further said it should be figured out whether the disaster occurred only because of excessive downpour.
Gawher Nayeem Wahra, director of Disaster Management and Climate Change at Brac; Philip Gain, a development activist; and Khairul Islam, country director of WaterAid Bangladesh, also spoke.
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