Campaign to keep rivers free from pollution launched
Friday, 13 May 2011
FE Report
Cleaning of garbage from the rivers around the capital will go in vain unless people shun their habit of throwing rubbish into those highly polluted waterbodies, Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan said. The shipping ministry has undertaken awareness programme to educate people about the bad effects of the river pollution at a cost of over Tk 5.2 million funded by the Climate Change Trust Fund. Emphasising on awareness building, the minister said the rivers remain contaminated with toxic wastes despite spending over Tk 210 million on Buriganga-Turag River Cleaning Project. "If people do not shun their habit of throwing rubbish into rivers, work to remove garbage, including plastic bottles, polythene bags, coconut shells and other solid pollutants from the Buriganga and the Turag may go in vain," the shipping minister said at a press briefing Thursday. The briefing was arranged at the office of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA). The newsmen were informed that the government has adopted 10 techniques to discourage people about the illegal use of these water bodies. The programmes include televised talk shows, mini drama, street shows, human chain, rally, documentary, campaign through loudspeakers, installing billboards, posters, banners, stickers and holding baul songs. Mr Khan, also a lawmaker from Madaripur district, said the government also decided to make concrete footpath and plant trees on both banks of these rivers to protect the banks permanently from the grabbers. He said the government will build Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) to purify the wastes for cluster industries but the industry owners will have to pay the costs. Hasan Mahmud, state minister for environment and forests, urged people of the river bank areas to come forward and help save the rivers for which the government would extend all cooperation. He said they will take strict legal action against the grabbers as well as the factories for releasing chemical wastes into the rivers, which was largely blamed for the river pollution. Mr Mahmud said they had fined factories Tk 150 million last year for the wrongdoings. "Of the amount, Tk 90 million was realised. So it indicates that we're strictly enforcing the law."
Cleaning of garbage from the rivers around the capital will go in vain unless people shun their habit of throwing rubbish into those highly polluted waterbodies, Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan said. The shipping ministry has undertaken awareness programme to educate people about the bad effects of the river pollution at a cost of over Tk 5.2 million funded by the Climate Change Trust Fund. Emphasising on awareness building, the minister said the rivers remain contaminated with toxic wastes despite spending over Tk 210 million on Buriganga-Turag River Cleaning Project. "If people do not shun their habit of throwing rubbish into rivers, work to remove garbage, including plastic bottles, polythene bags, coconut shells and other solid pollutants from the Buriganga and the Turag may go in vain," the shipping minister said at a press briefing Thursday. The briefing was arranged at the office of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA). The newsmen were informed that the government has adopted 10 techniques to discourage people about the illegal use of these water bodies. The programmes include televised talk shows, mini drama, street shows, human chain, rally, documentary, campaign through loudspeakers, installing billboards, posters, banners, stickers and holding baul songs. Mr Khan, also a lawmaker from Madaripur district, said the government also decided to make concrete footpath and plant trees on both banks of these rivers to protect the banks permanently from the grabbers. He said the government will build Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) to purify the wastes for cluster industries but the industry owners will have to pay the costs. Hasan Mahmud, state minister for environment and forests, urged people of the river bank areas to come forward and help save the rivers for which the government would extend all cooperation. He said they will take strict legal action against the grabbers as well as the factories for releasing chemical wastes into the rivers, which was largely blamed for the river pollution. Mr Mahmud said they had fined factories Tk 150 million last year for the wrongdoings. "Of the amount, Tk 90 million was realised. So it indicates that we're strictly enforcing the law."