A Correspondent :
The national taskforce on rivers will demarcate the boundaries of the rivers in Chittagong to protect them against encroachment and maintain their navigability.
The decision was taken at the 30th meeting of the taskforce at Chittagong Circuit House yesterday. However, no specific timeline was given.
Presiding over the meeting, Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan said, “If we don’t take steps to save the Karnaphuli River, it will turn into a Buriganga.”
With support from Chittagong City Corporation (CCC), the taskforce will continue its activities to protect Karnaphuli from pollution and encroachment, he added.
The Kaptai Lake will also be dredged to keep alive the water route, he said.
Housing and Public Works Minister Mosharraf Hossain asked CCC to take effective steps in this regard.
“There is no alternative to saving the Karnaphuli and Halda rivers if we are to save the port city,” he said, adding that all factories must install effluent treatment plants (ETPs) to save the rivers from liquid pollutants.
Halda researcher Manzoorul Kibria, also associate professor of biology at Chittagong University, said the Halda River was in death throes because of dams and effluent flowing from dyeing and garment factories.
Among the 133 factories on the bank of Karnaphuli, 123 have ETPs but most of the time they are not used, said Director of Department of Environment (DoE) in Chittagong Mokbul Hossain.
CCC Mayor AJM Nasir Uddin and Chittagong Port Authority Chairman Rear Admiral Mohammad Nizamuddin Ahmed also spoke.
The national taskforce on rivers will demarcate the boundaries of the rivers in Chittagong to protect them against encroachment and maintain their navigability.
The decision was taken at the 30th meeting of the taskforce at Chittagong Circuit House yesterday. However, no specific timeline was given.
Presiding over the meeting, Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan said, “If we don’t take steps to save the Karnaphuli River, it will turn into a Buriganga.”
With support from Chittagong City Corporation (CCC), the taskforce will continue its activities to protect Karnaphuli from pollution and encroachment, he added.
The Kaptai Lake will also be dredged to keep alive the water route, he said.
Housing and Public Works Minister Mosharraf Hossain asked CCC to take effective steps in this regard.
“There is no alternative to saving the Karnaphuli and Halda rivers if we are to save the port city,” he said, adding that all factories must install effluent treatment plants (ETPs) to save the rivers from liquid pollutants.
Halda researcher Manzoorul Kibria, also associate professor of biology at Chittagong University, said the Halda River was in death throes because of dams and effluent flowing from dyeing and garment factories.
Among the 133 factories on the bank of Karnaphuli, 123 have ETPs but most of the time they are not used, said Director of Department of Environment (DoE) in Chittagong Mokbul Hossain.
CCC Mayor AJM Nasir Uddin and Chittagong Port Authority Chairman Rear Admiral Mohammad Nizamuddin Ahmed also spoke.
