Buriganga, Shitalakkhya waters untreatable
Says Syed Ashraful Islam
LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Syed Ashraful Islam yesterday said the water quality of the Buriganga and Shitalakkhya rivers has deteriorated to such a level that treatment plants are now unable to treat that.
“We've made the rivers unusable…it's an example how the environmental degradation takes place in the entire country,†he told a function urging all to remain alert against any kind of pollution, especially river pollution to ensure access to drinking water for all.
He was speaking at the annual "Chittagong Festival and Mejban" of Chattagram Samity-Dhaka at the capital's Sultana Kamal Women's Sports Complex.
Ashraf, also the Awami League general secretary, said the government is planning to bring water from the Meghna River, even from the far away Padma River, to ensure drinking water in the capital and its surrounding areas.
About the water crisis in the port city, Chittagong, the minister said, “The water of the Karnaphuli River is gradually becoming salty…the water of the Bay of Bengal is also salty. Now water is being brought from the Halda River in Rangunia for the people of Chittagong.â€
Industries Minister Dilip Barua, Primary and Mass Education Minister Dr M Afsarul Ameen, BNP leaders Abdullah Al Noman and Mir Mohammad Nasir Uddin, Samity general secretary Mohiul Islam Mohim and its former general secretary Syed Nurul Islam also spoke at the event held with Samity president Rezaul Haq Chowdhury Mushtaq in the chair.
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