Raise awareness to keep city liveable

Speakers tell seminar

24 June 2010, 18:00 PM

Staff Correspondent

Speakers at a seminar yesterday stressed the need for increasing awareness about the environment to keep Dhaka city liveable in future. They also called for reducing emission of carbon dioxide in the country especially in the Dhaka city. Bipan Kumar Saha, chief waste management officer of Dhaka City Corporation (DCC), presided over the seminar at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre. Saha said the city residents will have to be aware of the environment if they want to keep Dhaka livable in future. DCC and Japan International Cooperation Agency organised the awareness building seminar on global warming. Dr Tariq Bin Yousuf, project director of Landfill Improvement Project of DCC, said five percent of green house gas emits from wastes in the country, which needs to be reduced. “To reduce the emission of green house gas from wastes we have to replace waste collection vehicles which are more then 10 years old, change routes to a lower distance for reducing fuel consumption during waste disposal and maintain the vehicles carrying waste properly,” he said. He said JICA has given DCC 100 waste collection vehicles as grant, which will reduce carbon emission three times. “If everyone works collectively and community leaders and people become aware then we will be able to face the challenge of climate change, said DCC Superintendent Engineer Syed Qudratullah. Councillor Shahida Morshed, senior representative of JICA Bangladesh Office Saeda Makimoto and senior research officer of Bangladesh Centre for Advance Studies Md Golam Rabbani also spoke at the seminar.