Stop building dams in the name of dev: PM

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday asked the officials of the Water Resources Ministry not to stop the natural flow of water by constructing dam or embankment in the name of development. She also directed the concerned officials to abandon the concept of sluice gate, saying these do not bring anything good and also have no effectiveness. “Development does mot mean just constructing dams,” the Prime Minister said in her introductory speech during a meeting with high officials of the Water Resources Ministry at the Bangladesh Secretariat. About the sluice gates, she said many canals in the country just died due to this system. “This system obstructs the plying of boats in the canals; fishes also become unavailable in the canals.” She suggested building tall dwelling houses in the flood prone areas of the country, according to a news agency.