The government Wednesday requested the Netherlands to provide technical and financial assistance for water management and river dredging, which is essential for Bangladesh's socio- economic development, as most rivers have silted up-and some of them already dead, reports UNB.
"We request the Netherlands to extend their cooperation in this regard," said Abdur Razzak MP, chairman of the standing committee on the Ministry of Water Resources, while addressing the inaugural session of a seminar titled 'Dredging Seminar' as the chief guest.
IHC Merwede, a leading dredger-building company, organised the seminar where Ambassador of the Netherlands Alphons Hennekins was also present as the special guest.
Many dredging experts, consultants, and representatives of local banks, shipyards and local media were present at the meet.
Abdur Razzak, also the former water resources minister of the previous Awami League government, said that the present government headed by Sheikh Hasina had already chalked out a plan of capital dredging for the country's big and small rivers to remove the deposited sediments carried down by the rivers from upstream.
"The Prime Minister is very interested in this regard and she has already given directives for working out how it can proceed," he told the function.
Describing water management as a very important issue as Bangladesh is the largest delta in the world, he said dredging the rivers is an imperative for facilitating the flow of river-water with a view to protecting people, agriculture and ecology from salinity.
Netherlands requested to help in river dredging, water management
FE Team | Published: January 14, 2010 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
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