Protect Padma from pollution and illegal occupation: environment activists
Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa) in Rajshahi today demanded protection of the Padma river in the city by freeing it from pollution and illegal occupation.
They also said the government's move to protect the river through capital dredging would not succeed if the river remained polluted and occupied.
The demand was made from a human chain and rally held at Shaheb Bazar Zero Point of Rajshahi city in the afternoon, our staff correspondent reports.
Bapa in collaboration with Rajshahi Rakhkha Sangram Parishad organised the programme on the occasion of International Day of Action for rivers.
Professionals, development activists and cultural workers took part in the rally.
The speakers emphasised the importance of the river for the survival of the city. They also spoke about the devastating consequences that would occur if the river disappears.
They said the flow of the Padma has been destroyed over the last few years due to illegal damming and the construction of illegal structures. This has led to the loss of many canals, beels, ponds, and water bodies in the region, which are vital to the area's ecosystem, they added.
The speakers called for the immediate protection of the river as well as the canals and beels connecting to the river and prevent influential people from destroying existence of the water bodies.
They also demanded implementation of proposed North Rajshahi Irrigation Project to ensure use of surface water and opening of a river port in Rajshahi.
Bapa's adviser Liaquat Ali, senior journalist Akbarul Hasan Millat, freedom fighter Dr Abdul Mannan, spoke at the programme. The parishad's general secretary Zamat Khan was in the chair.
Comments