UNB, Dhaka :
A database of all the rivers across the country is likely to be completed by June-July this year in an effort to identify the rivers facing serious problems and thus save those.
The National River Conservation Commission (NRCC) has taken up the initiative involving the administration at division, district and upazila levels.
Talking to UNB, NRCC chairman M Ataharul Islam said, “We’ll present the problems to the taskforce on river protection and it will take steps to solve the problems.”
He further said, “The committees that have been formed at the divisional, district and upazila levels of the administration will hand over the database or profiles of all the rivers to us within June or July.”
Divisional commissioners will lead the divisional committee, while deputy commissioners of the district one and Upazila Nirbahi Officers the upazila committee.
Ataharul said, the upazila committee will make a list of rivers under their jurisdiction in details and prepare a list identifying the problems of those rivers.
After the profiling of the rivers and identification of their problems, the upazila administration will try to solve the problems, he said. If the problems cannot be solved with the intervention of the upazila administration, a file in this connection will be sent to the Deputy Commissioner while the district committee will refer the acute problems to the divisional commissioner, he noted.
From the divisional level, the problems will be conveyed to the NRCC.
The NRCC chairman said information collection on the rivers has already begun across the country. It will recommend the government to recover and reserve the rivers that have been grabbed by occupants after the compilation of primary information.
In this regard, Water Resources Secretary Zafar Ahmed Khan told UNB that there are 450 rivers across the country. A good number of these rivers are facing different problems. Projects will be taken under the Bangladesh Delta Plan to resolve the problems, he said.
“We’ve chalked out a master plan to mitigate different problems, including the return of river navigability,” he added.
Speaking about the present conditions of the rivers, Ataharul said four rivers-Buriganga, Shitalakhya, Balu and Turag-surrounding capital Dhaka are worse affected than others due to pollution and grabbing.
Many other rivers like Boral in Pabna, Karnaphuli in Chittagong, Meghna and Dholeshawri in Narayanganj; Halda in Chittagong, Bhoirab in Khulna, Someshwari in Netrakona, Kirtonkhola in Barisal, Kobadak in Jessore and Muhuri in Feni are facing various problems like pollution and loss of navigability.
“We’ve visited the Boral River recently and informed the Shipping Ministry about its problems. The Local Government and Engineering Department, the Water Development Board and the Road Transport Authority have made four dams on the river. We’ve requested them to remove the dams.”
A database of all the rivers across the country is likely to be completed by June-July this year in an effort to identify the rivers facing serious problems and thus save those.
The National River Conservation Commission (NRCC) has taken up the initiative involving the administration at division, district and upazila levels.
Talking to UNB, NRCC chairman M Ataharul Islam said, “We’ll present the problems to the taskforce on river protection and it will take steps to solve the problems.”
He further said, “The committees that have been formed at the divisional, district and upazila levels of the administration will hand over the database or profiles of all the rivers to us within June or July.”
Divisional commissioners will lead the divisional committee, while deputy commissioners of the district one and Upazila Nirbahi Officers the upazila committee.
Ataharul said, the upazila committee will make a list of rivers under their jurisdiction in details and prepare a list identifying the problems of those rivers.
After the profiling of the rivers and identification of their problems, the upazila administration will try to solve the problems, he said. If the problems cannot be solved with the intervention of the upazila administration, a file in this connection will be sent to the Deputy Commissioner while the district committee will refer the acute problems to the divisional commissioner, he noted.
From the divisional level, the problems will be conveyed to the NRCC.
The NRCC chairman said information collection on the rivers has already begun across the country. It will recommend the government to recover and reserve the rivers that have been grabbed by occupants after the compilation of primary information.
In this regard, Water Resources Secretary Zafar Ahmed Khan told UNB that there are 450 rivers across the country. A good number of these rivers are facing different problems. Projects will be taken under the Bangladesh Delta Plan to resolve the problems, he said.
“We’ve chalked out a master plan to mitigate different problems, including the return of river navigability,” he added.
Speaking about the present conditions of the rivers, Ataharul said four rivers-Buriganga, Shitalakhya, Balu and Turag-surrounding capital Dhaka are worse affected than others due to pollution and grabbing.
Many other rivers like Boral in Pabna, Karnaphuli in Chittagong, Meghna and Dholeshawri in Narayanganj; Halda in Chittagong, Bhoirab in Khulna, Someshwari in Netrakona, Kirtonkhola in Barisal, Kobadak in Jessore and Muhuri in Feni are facing various problems like pollution and loss of navigability.
“We’ve visited the Boral River recently and informed the Shipping Ministry about its problems. The Local Government and Engineering Department, the Water Development Board and the Road Transport Authority have made four dams on the river. We’ve requested them to remove the dams.”
