Development of haors

the haors of the country have been victims of continuous human interventions in the last couple of years

President Abdul Hamid urged the relevant authorities to take extra care in planning development initiatives in environmentally delicate low lying haor region, as he wrapped up a three-day visit in Kishoreganj district, his birthplace. According to a report in this newspaper yesterday, the President told in a view exchange meeting with senior citizens, local representatives and officials on Tuesday night at his hometown of Astagram that climate change is now an important factor in development, so we must take pragmatic steps in chalking up development plans considering environmental features of particular areas. 
It is a disturbing reality that the haors of the country have been victims of continuous human interventions in the last couple of years. Sylhet, Sunamganj, Habiganj, Moulvibazar, Netrakona, Kishoreganj and Brahmanbaria—together known as haor districts—were once considered as the food basket of Bangladesh, but their contributions to the country’s agriculture and fisheries sectors have dwindled considerably over the years. Unplanned and uncoordinated urbanisation has taken toll on the marine life of haors. This is a blow to the country’s economy.   
 As lungs in human body play a dominant role in the act of respiration so do the wetlands in protecting country’s environment, flora and fauna, bio-diversity and ecological balance. The wetlands, particularly the haors, are the repositories of fishes that meet the nutritional demand of the people of the country. But the fish and other resources of these haors are declining fast. It seems that nature and human being are at war for respective existence. Grabbing of wetlands by a section of influential people is contributing to the shrinkage of the wetlands. 
The rivers and water bodies around Dhaka are shrinking day by day. Encroachers are enjoying heydays in grabbing them. Influential political leaders and a section of dishonest government officials are abetting the crime in exchange for bribes. This malpractice cannot be allowed to go on. The government must take tough measures for the protection of the haors in no time. The encroached wetlands must be recovered and the grabbers must be brought to justice. Vigilance should be maintained so that in future wetland cannot be grabbed further. Due to complicated geographic features,  people living in haor areas are backward in many respects. Those warrant immediate attention by the relevant authorities. There is no alternative to protecting the haors for our survival. 

 

Development of haors

the haors of the country have been victims of continuous human interventions in the last couple of years

President Abdul Hamid urged the relevant authorities to take extra care in planning development initiatives in environmentally delicate low lying haor region, as he wrapped up a three-day visit in Kishoreganj district, his birthplace. According to a report in this newspaper yesterday, the President told in a view exchange meeting with senior citizens, local representatives and officials on Tuesday night at his hometown of Astagram that climate change is now an important factor in development, so we must take pragmatic steps in chalking up development plans considering environmental features of particular areas. It is a disturbing reality that the haors of the country have been victims of continuous human interventions in the last couple of years. Sylhet, Sunamganj, Habiganj, Moulvibazar, Netrakona, Kishoreganj and Brahmanbariatogether known as haor districtswere once considered as the food basket of Bangladesh, but their contributions to the countrys agriculture and fisheries sectors have dwindled considerably over the years. Unplanned and uncoordinated urbanisation has taken toll on the marine life of haors. This is a blow to the countrys economy. As lungs in human body play a dominant role in the act of respiration so do the wetlands in protecting countrys environment, flora and fauna, bio-diversity and ecological balance. The wetlands, particularly the haors, are the repositories of fishes that meet the nutritional demand of the people of the country. But the fish and other resources of these haors are declining fast. It seems that nature and human being are at war for respective existence. Grabbing of wetlands by a section of influential people is contributing to the shrinkage of the wetlands. The rivers and water bodies around Dhaka are shrinking day by day. Encroachers are enjoying heydays in grabbing them. Influential political leaders and a section of dishonest government officials are abetting the crime in exchange for bribes. This malpractice cannot be allowed to go on. The government must take tough measures for the protection of the haors in no time. The encroached wetlands must be recovered and the grabbers must be brought to justice. Vigilance should be maintained so that in future wetland cannot be grabbed further. Due to complicated geographic features, people living in haor areas are backward in many respects. Those warrant immediate attention by the relevant authorities. There is no alternative to protecting the haors for our survival.