BSS, Dhaka:

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Sunday expressed dissatisfaction with the stalling of the two surface water projects for long 10 years and said over extraction of groundwater is putting the country’s environment at grave risk.

“We are putting the environment at grave risk by withdrawing groundwater every day. Despite the fact that there were ways to come out of the crisis, this work has not been accomplished for so many years,” he told a meeting in Dhaka.

The chief adviser held the meeting with the authorities concerned to know the progress of the ‘Water Treatment Plant Construction Project Phase-3’ and the ‘Meghna River Protection Master Plan Project’.

The meeting was held at the state guesthouse Jamuna, while senior officials from the Local Government Division, Dhaka WASA, the Planning Commission, the Economic Relations Division (ERD), the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and the Department of Environment (DoE) were present.

Principal Coordinator for SDGs Affairs (Senior Secretary) Lamiya Morshed and Principal Secretary to the Chief Adviser M Siraz Uddin Miah also attended the meeting.

During the meeting, Prof Yunus expressed his dissatisfaction as the work of the two projects has been stalled for 10 years.

He said, “Such an important project has been stalled for almost 10 years! It is very important for the people of Dhaka city.”

The chief adviser asked the departments and ministries concerned to find out where there were obstacles since the beginning of these two projects. He also discussed the issue of minimising the costs of the projects.

The officials said about 70% of the total water supply in Dhaka city is coming from groundwater sources. Due to the use of underground water for a long time, the water level is shrinking by about 2-3 metres in Dhaka every year; which is contrary to sustainable development and is posing a threat of major environmental disasters.

To address this crisis, the officials said, the Meghna River Protection Master Plan was taken to treat the water supplied from the river at ‘Saidabad Water Treatment Plant Project (Phase-3)’ aiming to establish a sustainable and environment-friendly water supply system for the city dwellers.

Germany, France, Denmark, and the European Union (EU) have been supporting the project. The EU and other foreign donors promised to continue their support for the implementation of the project and increase their assistance, if necessary, in future.

To implement the master plan to protect the Meghna River, preparation began 10 years ago. Although the master plan has been formulated, its implementation work has yet to begin.

The chief adviser said the waters of the Buriganga and the Shitalakshya around Dhaka have become unusable due to high pollution, and other rivers of the country are also in various crises.

In this situation, he said, protecting the Meghna River is the government’s priority.

Prof Yunus said there is a lot of concern over the river and that is why work should be started immediately to save the river.

“Freeing the rivers of Bangladesh from pollution should be one of the government’s priorities. Otherwise, the lives of people in this area cannot be protected.”

The chief adviser directed the ministries and departments concerned to implement the projects within the current fiscal by completing the necessary official work as soon as possible.

Besides, he discussed how the National River Conservation Commission can be made more active and how to increase coordination between the DoE and the Commission.