To cut plastic pollution and strengthen waste management in a tourist area, an awareness meeting and clean-up were held at Radhanagar in Sreemangal, Moulvibazar. As part of the programme, a plastic crusher machine was handed to the Radhanagar Resort Owners' Association.
The event took place on Saturday, 24 October, at Balishira Resort in Sreemangal, under the Department of Environment's project "Integrated Approach towards Sustainable Plastics Use and Marine Litter Prevention in Bangladesh". The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) gave technical support and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Dhaka funded it. The organisers say about 300 stakeholders took part in the meeting, publicity, clean-up and handover.
The meeting discussed the challenges of managing plastic waste in tourist areas, cutting single-use plastics and the need for joint local action. Speakers stressed separating waste at source, collecting recyclable materials properly and bringing sustainable waste management into resorts and other tourism businesses.
The chief guest, Md Abul Kalam Azad, director of the Department of Environment's Sylhet divisional office, said Sreemangal, with its tea gardens, green forests and rich biodiversity, is one of the country's most attractive tourist destinations and protecting its natural resources is everyone's responsibility. Plastic bottles, cups and food packets thrown about carelessly are damaging the environment and beauty of tourist areas, he said, and tourists, residents, resort owners and traders must work together.
The event was chaired by Md Maidul Islam, assistant director of the department's Moulvibazar district office, and a UNIDO representative presented the project's aims. Resort owners' association president Kumkum Habiba, senior vice-president Tanvir Linkon and general secretary Tarikur Rahman Pappu were among the speakers.
Reported by Samakal's Sreemangal correspondent.
Photo: Tea garden in Sreemangal, Mar11 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: Samakal
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