BSS, Rajshahi :
Ensuring urban public and environmental health is very vital for substantial and sustainable livelihood improvement of the civic lives in Rajshahi city through improving its health status of the mass people especially poor, health experts, educationists and development activists here said.
They mentioned that there should be appropriate measures of building the city as planned way besides environmentally sound so that it can cope with the abnormal situation of environmental degradation in the wake of rushing huge people to the city every year.
Emphasis should be given on promoting and strengthening citizen’s participation in urban public and environmental health that is pro-poor and gender responsive, said Prof Dr A B Siddiqui, Director of Rajshahi Shishu Hospital.
He underlined the need for adopting more need-oriented projects for environmental development in the city. The Rajshahi City Corporation should be committed to make the city habitable through undertaking need-based projects to earn the trusts of the city dwellers.
Promoting environmental health services like solid waste, medical waste, food and water safety and municipal financial reformation through enabling public private partnership, citizens participation, gender responsive and pro-poor targeting should be given priority.
To this end, construction of sanitary landfills for solid waste
management, modern slaughterhouse, food laboratory and training center has become an urgent need, Child Specialist Siddiqui added.
Besides, improving the public and environmental health conditions in the city by strengthening institutional capacity and improving financial sustainability is very vital.
All the government and non-government organizations concerned should work together for supplementing the government efforts to reduce child mortality and morbidity by reducing the prevalence of water and food borne diseases and to increase productivity by reducing overall morbidity and improve quality of life the city.
Chowdhury Sarwar Jahan, Pro-Vice Chancellor of Rajshahi University,
stressed the need for ensuring safe water from source to all consumers for the sake of protecting the city dwellers especially the poor and extreme poor ones from various waterborne diseases.
He noted that the authorities concerned should work together in this regard as safe water is the fundamental rights of the people irrespective of caste and creed.
Prof Chowdhury commented that necessary measures should be taken to make the water supply system sustainable through improvement of water sources management to enhance the living condition of hardcore poor people.
Utmost importance should be given on ensuring safe drinking water through good water supply practice for substantial and sustainable prevention of water sources contamination. There is no way but to improve the health as well as reducing medical cost of the city dwellers.
Former VC of Rajshahi University Prof Saidur Rahman Khan said the ongoing schemes must intend to treat the water to reduce or remove contamination to meet the water quality target. There should also provision of preventing re-contamination during storage, distribution and handling of drinking water.
As a whole, Rajshahi WASA should provide safe water to consumers through improved management, standard operations and proper maintenance of the system. So, emphasis should be given on creating awareness among customers on water quality and active participation.
Ensuring urban public and environmental health is very vital for substantial and sustainable livelihood improvement of the civic lives in Rajshahi city through improving its health status of the mass people especially poor, health experts, educationists and development activists here said.
They mentioned that there should be appropriate measures of building the city as planned way besides environmentally sound so that it can cope with the abnormal situation of environmental degradation in the wake of rushing huge people to the city every year.
Emphasis should be given on promoting and strengthening citizen’s participation in urban public and environmental health that is pro-poor and gender responsive, said Prof Dr A B Siddiqui, Director of Rajshahi Shishu Hospital.
He underlined the need for adopting more need-oriented projects for environmental development in the city. The Rajshahi City Corporation should be committed to make the city habitable through undertaking need-based projects to earn the trusts of the city dwellers.
Promoting environmental health services like solid waste, medical waste, food and water safety and municipal financial reformation through enabling public private partnership, citizens participation, gender responsive and pro-poor targeting should be given priority.
To this end, construction of sanitary landfills for solid waste
management, modern slaughterhouse, food laboratory and training center has become an urgent need, Child Specialist Siddiqui added.
Besides, improving the public and environmental health conditions in the city by strengthening institutional capacity and improving financial sustainability is very vital.
All the government and non-government organizations concerned should work together for supplementing the government efforts to reduce child mortality and morbidity by reducing the prevalence of water and food borne diseases and to increase productivity by reducing overall morbidity and improve quality of life the city.
Chowdhury Sarwar Jahan, Pro-Vice Chancellor of Rajshahi University,
stressed the need for ensuring safe water from source to all consumers for the sake of protecting the city dwellers especially the poor and extreme poor ones from various waterborne diseases.
He noted that the authorities concerned should work together in this regard as safe water is the fundamental rights of the people irrespective of caste and creed.
Prof Chowdhury commented that necessary measures should be taken to make the water supply system sustainable through improvement of water sources management to enhance the living condition of hardcore poor people.
Utmost importance should be given on ensuring safe drinking water through good water supply practice for substantial and sustainable prevention of water sources contamination. There is no way but to improve the health as well as reducing medical cost of the city dwellers.
Former VC of Rajshahi University Prof Saidur Rahman Khan said the ongoing schemes must intend to treat the water to reduce or remove contamination to meet the water quality target. There should also provision of preventing re-contamination during storage, distribution and handling of drinking water.
As a whole, Rajshahi WASA should provide safe water to consumers through improved management, standard operations and proper maintenance of the system. So, emphasis should be given on creating awareness among customers on water quality and active participation.
