Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan yesterday said the government will not bow its head to the river encroachers, no matter how tough the task is, reports UNB.
 Speaking at a seminar, he also noted that the government is sincere about protecting the rivers and will put its best efforts to stop river encroachment and pollution not only in Dhaka and its surrounding, but also across other parts of the country.
 The seminar was organised by National River Protection Commission at Gonopurta Bhaban in the city.
 Chaired by NRPC chairman M Ataharul Islam, the discussion was addressed, among others, by additional secretary of Shipping Ministry M Rafiqul Islam, executive director of the Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS) M Waji Ullah and NRPC member M Alauddin.  
 Speaking as the chief guest, the Shipping Minister said the government has taken a mega plan involving Tk 11,470 crore to dredge rivers for maintaining the navigability of 53 river routes while dredging work of 24 routes have already started.
 The Shipping Minister said, “We’ve taken many initiatives to resist river encroachment and water pollution. The mouth of the Buriganga has been blocked to a great extent due to the direct waste disposal of MitfordHospital and the fruit waste disposal of Waizghat.”  
 Executive director of Institute of Water Modelling (IWM) M Monowar Hossain and chairman of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) Commodore Mohammad Mozammel Haque presented separate papers at the seminar.