Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today requested all not to dump waste in the rivers to protect river pollution as part of the efforts to make water as blessing, reports BSS.
“I request all to stop dumping waste in the rivers to protect those from pollution,” she said inaugurating the ‘World Water Day-2019’ programme at
Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) here in the capital.
The premier asked members of the committee formed for recovering riverbanks from illegal occupation to take effective measures as none can dump waste in the rivers.
She also requested industries not to pollute water, saying, “All mills and factories must have waste management system and water treatment plant to save the rivers from pollution.”
Sheikh Hasina also asked the people not to throw wastes here and there while moving along the roads and rivers.
Referring to severe river pollution particularly in the Buriganga, the premier said, “Nowadays, a bad smell is coming from the river water,” posing a question, “Why such bad smell comes from the river.”
Rivers are asset for us, she mentioned.
Describing waste management as a global issue, she said, “Seas are badly affected due to dumping waste by the ships. Waste has been seen in many seas.”
State Minister of Water Resources Zaheed Farooque, MP, presided over the function organized by the Ministry of Water Resources.
Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee Ramesh Chandra Sen and Deputy Minister AKM Enamul Hoque Shameem also spoke on the occasion while Secretary of the ministry Kabir Bin Anwar gave welcome address.
Two separate video documentaries, one on water management and another on Delta Plan-2100 were screened at the function.
World Water Day is being celebrated every year on March 22 since 1993 in the country as elsewhere in the globe, with a view to bringing attention to importance of freshwater and advocating the sustainable management of freshwater resources.
The theme of this year’s World Water Day is “Leaving No One Behind” which is also the main theme of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).