Formulate specific land use policy
Urge environmentalists
Environmentalists yesterday demanded formulation and implementation of a specific land use policy and more budgetary allocation for environment conservation to tackle the effects of pollution.
“A land use policy is required in every upazila and this could be initiated from an area, like Savar,” said former Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa) president Prof Muzaffer Ahmad at a press conference in the capital's Dhaka Reporters Unity.
Savar Nodi and Poribesh Unnayan Parishad (SNPUP) and Bapa jointly organised the conference with Bapa President ASM Shahjahan in the chair, demanding a stop to environmental degradation of Savar and pollution of its rivers and water bodies.
Prof Muzaffer, currently Bapa adviser, said the immense potentialities of Savar were destroyed due to the absence of a land use policy, unplanned industrialisation and indiscriminate dumping of industrial waste.
Expressing concern over the non-implementation of the country's environment related laws, Shahjahan, a former adviser to a caretaker government, demanded an environment-friendly budget to prevent pollution.
SNPUP General Secretary Sohrab Uddin Khan demanded the government to declare Bangshi and Dhaleshwari rivers as Ecologically Critical Areas (ECA) and demarcation of the offshore to prevent encroachment and pollution.
The government had already declared four rivers surrounding Dhaka city -- Buriganga, Shitalakhhya, Turag and Balu -- as ECA.
Describing the gradual degradation of Savar's environment, SNPUP Vice President Rafiqul Islam Molla placed a 17-point demand to conserve the area's environment.
It includes implementation of Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act, 1995 (amendment 2010) and Detailed Area Plan and setting up of branch offices of Department of Environment (DoE) and Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha in Savar and Dhamrai.
They also demanded monitoring programmes, participated by DoE, local representatives and environmental organisations, to prevent environmental degradation.
Bapa General Secretary Dr Abdul Matin and Architect Iqbal Habib also spoke at the programme.
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