River Erosion Prevention
Experts call for cooperation among S Asian nations
South Asian nations should cooperate to address issues of river erosion, which turn thousands homeless every year, academics and disaster management experts said yesterday.
This is a serious issue but it has been ignored for long, they said at the inaugural session of a weeklong regional training on river erosion and embankment safety management in South Asia.
“About one million people are affected by river erosion in Bangladesh alone. Many of these people get displaced for years,” said Prof Dr Shahnaz Huq-Hossain, director of Dhaka University's Disaster Research Training and Management Centre (DRTMC).
DRTMC and Saarc Disaster Management Centre, New Delhi, jointly organised the training at the Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban of DU. Academics, practitioners, and government officials from the South Asian countries are to attend the training.
Those losing their homes and land because of rivers are taking shelter in the city slums, Dr Shahnaz said, adding that mainstream intervention is necessary for those victims.
DU Vice Chancellor Professor AAMS Arefin Siddique said river erosion and its victims has become a national problem.
“Riverbanks maintenance is very important for preventing erosion,” he said urging South Asian facing similar problems to collaborate.
DU Pro-VC and Geography Professor Dr Nasreen Ahmad, among others, also spoke.
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