SANGSAD BHABAN, Feb 3, 2020 (BSS) – State Minister for Water Resources Zahid Faruque today said the government has taken a master plan for curbing the pollution of the rivers throughout the country.
“As per the instruction of the Prime Minister, initiative has been taken to formulate a master plan in order to curb pollution of the rivers across the country,” the State Minister said this while responding to a starred question made by treasury bench lawmaker Moazzem Hossen Ratan of Sunamganj-1 in the House here.
The master plan, split into short, medium and long terms, which would be implemented for the next years, said the state minister, adding that a draft of the master plan has already been finalized to bring navigability and checking pollution and encroachment of the major four rivers like Buriganga, Sitalakhya, Turag, Balu and the Kornophuli river in Chattagram.
Under the master plan, he said Illegal encroachment and pollution have been given maximum importance and the illegal encroachment has been brought under the ‘crash programme’.
The Ministries of Shipping and the Water Resources have begun a joint programme to make the river banks of the Karnaphuli and Buriganga free from illegal encroachment, Faruque mentioned.
In addition to this, Zahid said the government has activated the ‘District Water Resources Management Committee’ led by the Deputy Commissioners for implementing the Bangladesh Water Act, 2013.
The eviction programme under the act is already going on to make all the rivers across the country free from illegal encroachment, he added.