Establish \\\'coordinated water management\\\'

FE Team | Published: May 24, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

Speakers at a national convention urged the people on Friday to build a unity for realising due shares of 54 common river waters, including the Teesta, from India, reports UNB.
They also demanded for establishing a coordinated water management at the regional level.
The Democratic Left Alliance (DLA), a band of eight left-leaning political parties, organised the daylong convention at the National Press Club Auditorium in the city demanding due shares of 54 common river waters and protesting water aggression of India and what they said the subservient foreign policy of the Bangladesh government.
Professionals, river and water experts, left-leaning political leaders, engineers and environmentalists spoke at the convention with DLA coordinator Shuvangshu Chakrabarty in the chair.
A declaration was adopted at the end of the convention.
The declaration included publication of white paper on the loss of agriculture and livelihood, desert-like situation and deforestation caused due to the withdrawal of water from international rivers by India, ratification of the UN Convention on the law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Water Courses 1997, taking initiative to establish global acceptance against inter-river linkage plan by India, and more active Bangladesh-India joint river commission establishing it as a effective institution.
Language veteran Ahmad Rafique, Engineer Sheikh Mohammad Shahidullah, Prof Serajul Islam Chowdhury, Prof Ahmed Kamal, general secretary of Bangladesher Communist Party Syed Abu Jafar Ahmed, marine expert Nur Mohammad, Prof Anu Mohammad, water expert M Enamul Haque and Assistant Prof Tanjim Uddin Khan also addressed the function.
In his address, Ahmed Rafique stressed the need for working with the people to get their support for the water issue to resolve the problem.
Prof Serajul Islam called upon the left-leaning parties to be united for a strong movement with a view to resolving the water issue.
Prof Anu Mohammad called upon the left leaders to include the people of Bangladesh, India and other countries concerned in the movement to reach the issue to the international forum.