Farida Akhter, adviser to the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, has said that climate change is seriously affecting the country's agriculture, food and livelihoods. "We have seen that hilsa carried fewer eggs this time, and the reason was found to be that the rain did not come on time," she said. "Because rivers have been silted up and encroached upon, the routes fish travel have been blocked. Roads have been built through the haors. If necessary, we will have to break these roads."

She made the remarks as guest of honour at the second Climate Justice Rally organised by Dharitri Rokkhay Amra (DHARA), a citizens' platform on the environment and climate change, at the Liberation War Museum auditorium in Agargaon, Dhaka, on Saturday (7 December).

Kainan Houghton, described in the report as the foundation's deputy regional programme director, said the new energy policy being adopted by Bangladesh's interim government was certainly encouraging. For a sustainable future, he said, Bangladesh must move to clean energy, replacing fossil fuels with renewables. "We are delighted to be associated with this climate justice rally and wish it every success," he said.

Social welfare adviser Sharmeen Murshid and many others also spoke. Those present included Jalal Ahmed, chairman of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission; Prof Dr Mohammad Zahirul Haque, vice-chancellor of Metropolitan University; Md Shamsuddoha, chief executive of the Center for Participatory Research and Development (CPRD); Shahriar Ahmed Chowdhury, chairman of Centre for Renewable Energy Services Limited (CRESL); and Rabeya Begum, executive director of Shariatpur Development Society (SDS).

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.