Save Halda
Urge environmentalists
Bangladesh Paribesh Forum forms a human chain on Chittagong Press Club premises yesterday protesting discharge of untreated liquid waste of Hathazari Power Plant and Asian Paper Mill into the Halda and a plan of dredging the river.Photo: STAR
Environmentalists here yesterday protested discharge of untreated liquid waste of Hathazari Power Plant and Asian Paper Mill into the Halda and a plan of dredging the river. Halda, the natural spawning ground of sweet water carp fishes, is gradually being destroyed by pollution and manmade hazards, they told a rally and human chain. The 100MW power plant in Hathazari is discharging furnace oil into the river Halda, while the effluent of Asian Paper Mill is flowing into it through Madari canal, they said. Manjurul Kibria, a Halda researcher and zoology teacher at Chittagong University, said that in Fatikchhari, an inflatable rubber dam had been constructed on the bank of the river, which was obstructing flows of the river. Presently the government is also planning to dredge the river, which, if implemented, will have the river lose its character as the natural spawning ground of fishes, he added. “If we fail to protect the river from pollution, it will not survive”, said Prof Idris Ali, a Karnaphuli researcher and professor of Chittagong College. The speakers urged all conscious people to create awareness among people living on the banks of the river to save the natural fish breeding ground. Bangladesh Paribesh Forum, an NGO, organised the programmes at Chittagong Press Club premises. Channel-I Bureau Chief Chowdhury Farid, and Secretary of the forum Aliur Rahman, and Engineer Mohammad Harun spoke, among others, on the occasion.
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