PM calls for river action
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has ordered government agencies to step up coordinated action to control pollution and restore Dhaka’s rivers, stressing that protecting the capital’s waterways requires not only public participation but also clear responsibility and effective implementation by the authorities.
At a review meeting at the Bangladesh Secretariat on Sunday, Rahman said protecting the Buriganga, Turag, Dhaleshwari, Balu and Shitalakkhya rivers could not be left to the government alone.
“We cannot simply wait for government directives; we must also act out of our
own sense of responsibility,” he said, framing river conservation as a shared civic responsibility.
The prime minister directed officials to accelerate implementation of plans already adopted and improve coordination among ministries and agencies responsible for river management.
The meeting reviewed measures to control pollution, remove waste, restore navigability and advance the proposed circular waterways around Dhaka, according to his assistant press secretary, Gazi Shahriar Pamir.
The initiative envisages turning the rivers surrounding the capital into an integrated water-transport and drainage network, a plan that has featured in government policy discussions for years.
The latest directive comes after successive administrations launched task forces, clean-up drives and enforcement campaigns targeting the same rivers, pollution sources and encroachment problems, with limited lasting results.
The government did not announce specific deadlines, funding allocations or penalties for agencies or polluters following Sunday’s meeting, leaving implementation and accountability as the key tests of the latest initiative.
The meeting was attended by ministers responsible for local government, environment, industries, water resources and shipping, as well as state ministers and senior officials.
Administrators from Dhaka, Narayanganj and Gazipur city corporations and a Bangladesh Navy rear admiral overseeing the Dhaka naval area were also present.
Industrial effluent, untreated sewage and solid waste have long been major sources of pollution in the Buriganga and Shitalakkhya, while siltation and encroachment have contributed to declining navigability across the river network.
Environmental campaigners have repeatedly called for sustained enforcement against polluters and encroachers, arguing that periodic clean-up campaigns cannot restore the waterways without effective monitoring and penalties.
For the latest initiative to succeed, the government will need to move beyond high-level directives and establish clear timelines, assign responsibility to individual agencies and ensure consequences for failure to act.
