Bangladesh's parliamentary Committee on Public Undertakings has called for long-term, sustainable river management plans to fight erosion instead of short-term, repeated spending, and for modern technology and research to be used in river training.
The committee held its third meeting at the parliament building on Wednesday, 7 October, chaired by its president, Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni. It reviewed the work, problems and plans of the Ministry of Water Resources, the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) and the Water Resources Planning Organization (WARPO).
It recommended managing the very large volumes of silt the rivers carry, assessing how effective regular and capital dredging have been, and adopting a joint strategy to keep waterways navigable.
To ease pressure on groundwater, members stressed installing fewer deep tube-wells in critical areas, using more surface water, using less groundwater and following a water reuse policy. They also asked for WARPO's current studies to be finished quickly and its research capacity strengthened.
On digging and re-excavating rivers, canals and reservoirs, the committee said agencies should stop cutting canals separately and work under one coordinated policy. It also urged an effective master plan for waterlogging, waste and sewage in the DND area.
The committee further asked for the BWDB's more than 5,000 long-pending audit objections to be settled quickly, for project funds to be released at the start of the year, and for the board's institutional and technical capacity to be strengthened. Environmental protection, climate resilience and bringing river and canal digging under sustainable water management also featured in the discussion. The report is by The Daily Observer's staff reporter.
Photo: Nakib Ahmed / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: The Daily Observer
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