‘Unwise decisions cause river crisis’

Urging the policymakers and activists to work collaboratively to ensure river rights, speakers yesterday blamed unwise decisions by stakeholders for the poor condition of rivers flowing through Bangladesh. They were speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the three-day 5th International Water Conference 2020 arranged by ActionAid Bangladesh (AAB) at Hotel Graver Inn of Kuakata in Patuakhali.

Titled 'Legalising River Rights: People Politics and Practice', the conference is focused on promoting sustainable usage and maintenance of water resources.

Emeritus Prof of Brac University Dr Ainun Nishat said the government's plans regarding the rivers are ultimately about repelling only floods.

"I was involved in the planning of Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 (BDP 2100) ... the key objective of the plan is to manage the flood situation," he said.

He also criticized the reluctance of government engineers in water resource management saying that only a handful of them think about sediment load of the rivers.

He noted that squeezing the flowing path of the rivers will only increase the sediment load, subsequently disrupting the lives of people.

Unwise decisions cause river crisis

Urging the policymakers and activists to work collaboratively to ensure river rights, speakers yesterday blamed unwise decisions by stakeholders for the poor condition of rivers flowing through Bangladesh. They were speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the three-day 5th International Water Conference 2020 arranged by ActionAid Bangladesh (AAB) at Hotel Graver Inn of Kuakata in Patuakhali. Titled Legalising River Rights: People Politics and Practice, the conference is focused on promoting sustainable usage and maintenance of water resources. Emeritus Prof of Brac University Dr Ainun Nishat said the governments plans regarding the rivers are ultimately about repelling only floods. I was involved in the planning of Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 (BDP 2100) ... the key objective of the plan is to manage the flood situation, he said. He also criticized the reluctance of government engineers in water resource management saying that only a handful of them think about sediment load of the rivers. He noted that squeezing the flowing path of the rivers will only increase the sediment load, subsequently disrupting the lives of people.