TDS Desk:

Syeda Rizwana Hasan, the interim government’s adviser for water resources, environment, forests, and climate change, has directed relevant authorities to finalise the exact number of rivers in Bangladesh within the next two months.

This directive was issued during a virtual inter-ministerial meeting held on Wednesday night (September 4), focusing on river identification, protection, and pollution control.

Rizwana instructed the Bangladesh Water Development Board, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority, National River Conservation Commission, and divisional commissioners to collaborate on preparing a joint list of rivers, which will be published online to allow for public input, objections, and hearings.

She emphasised the need to identify at least 64 rivers across the country’s 64 districts and to develop a time-bound, cost-effective plan to evict illegal encroachers.

“The Department of Environment will also prepare a list of the country’s most polluted rivers and conduct regular operations to monitor and control pollution. The list will include rivers affected by plastic pollution, with actionable plans to mitigate the damage,” Rizwana said.

She proposed creating a “health card” for each river to monitor its condition, urging the involvement of local residents, youth groups, NGOs, and social organisations in preventing encroachment and pollution. She also stressed the need for government offices to reduce plastic use by avoiding plastic water bottles, folders, and banners.

The BIWTA was tasked with reviewing the Dhaka Circular Waterway proposal with experts, while the River Protection Commission was instructed to finalise amendments to river protection laws within three months, as per a High Court order.

Additionally, divisional commissioners and district commissioners were directed to clear important rivers like Kirtankhola and Rupsa of illegal encroachments.

To combat pollution, the meeting discussed a joint campaign between the Ministry of Environment and the shipping ministry to ban illegal polythene bags and promote the use of eco-friendly jute bags.

The meeting also highlighted the discrepancies in the reported number of rivers in Bangladesh, with the final count expected to address these variations and align with the directives from writ petition no. 8539/2021 in the High Court.

Key participants in the meeting included Nazmul Ahsan, secretary of the Ministry of Water Resources, Brigadier General (retd.) M. Sakhawat Hossain, adviser to the Ministry of Shipping and Jute and Textiles, and representatives from the River Protection Commission, BIWTA, and the Directorate General of Environment.