RAJSHAHI, Jan 15, 2018 (BSS) – Speakers at a view-sharing meeting here stressed the need for re-excavating the derelict water-bodies and wetlands for conservation of surface water to maintain ecological balance in the region.
They said large number of water-bodies have become derelict due to the adverse impact of climate change posing a serious threat to ecosystem with living and livelihood condition of the people.
The observation came in the meeting titled “Site-seeing and Evaluation of Beel Kumari Beel to achieve SDGs” held at Tanore Upazila Parishad Auditorium in the district yesterday.
Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) and Australian Curtin University jointly organized the meeting as part of two-day workshop on “Role of BMDA for the Implementation of SDG’s at the Grassroots level in Barind Areas”.
More than 100 community people and others concerned joined the meeting putting forward a set of recommendation on restoring navigability of the canals.
BMDA Chairman Dr Akram Hossain Chowdhury chaired the meeting while Dora Marinova, Professor and Director, Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute, addressed the meeting as focal person.
Professor Amzad Hossain and Professor Asif Iqbal Siddiqui from Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute, Professor Shamsul Alam, Professor Chowdhury Sarwar Jahan and Professor Monzur Hossain from Rajshahi University, Director General of Rural Development Academy Engineer Abdul Matin and BMDA Executive Director Engineer Abdur Rashid also spoke at the function.
Dr Chowdhury said there are a lot of beels and ponds in Barind area and if those had been re-excavated properly, all the farming lands could have been brought under irrigation with conserving water round the year.