AL men grab rivers: BNP
Staff Reporter :
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Friday accused the ruling Awami League of grabbing rivers across the country.
He also has criticised the government for its alleged lack of planning to protect the country’s environment from the adverse effects of global climate change.
“You might have seen that the small rivers that once existed in Savar-Dhamrai areas have nearly died out. Several clubs have emerged along the Turag river with the backing of influential persons from the Awami League government. No one barred them to construct clubs there grabbing the rivers,” he said it at a seminar titled ‘Climate Change: Bangladesh and Rivers,’ organized by BNP.
BNP Standing Committee Member Dr. Khandkar Mosharraf Hossain was the Chief Guest in the programme.
BNP Vice-Chairman Major (Retd) Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, Joint-Secretary General Khairul Kabir Khokon, Media Cell convener Zahir Uddin Swapan, Ecologists Professor AK Enamul Haque, Phd, Zakir Hossain, Hasna Jasimuddin Moudud, and Save the Sundarbans Foundation Chairman Sheikh Faridul Islam spoke at the event Mirza Fakhrul said, “All of those clubs have been constructed on top of the riverbed.
Water levels are decreasing, and rivers are being encroached upon – anyone can see it. The people connected to the current government are responsible for these heinous activities. Yet no measures are being taken against them.”
He said that the government is bitting drums lauding its propagandas about their development, but they actually have no plan over keeping rivers flowing.
Mirza Fakhrul recommended different measures, including the banning of plastic bags, a canal digging programme, and the banning of tri-stroke baby taxis, taken under BNP’s rule to protect the environment of the country.
The BNP leader emphasised that a pro-people government is needed to protect the environment.
He said also that the democracy is necessary for accountability for all sectors including climate issues.
He also said that the harmful aspects of building dams upstream in India is threatening to nature and biodiversity of Bangladesh.
Dr. Mosharraf criticised the government’s Farakka Treaty agreement and the lack of a guarantee clause.
