Environment adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan has said that trees will soon be planted and greenery created on the dividers of Dhaka's roads to curb air pollution. In addition, various activities will be implemented through a task force and a time-bound action plan.

She was speaking as chief guest on Sunday (12 January) at a day-long seminar titled "Air Quality Research and Environmental Policy Discussion", organised jointly by the Faculty of Science of Dhaka University and the US Embassy in Dhaka at the faculty's conference room.

The adviser said everyone is suffering from the effects of Dhaka's air pollution. Giving the issue the highest priority, the present government has taken up various plans and moved to implement them, she said. Public awareness against air pollution must be stressed, and everyone must work on it from their own position.

Dhaka University pro-vice chancellor (administration) Professor Dr Sayema Haque Bidisha, speaking as guest of honour, said the harmful effects of air pollution on the environment, human health and the economy are growing day by day. People are suffering from serious diseases, premature deaths and child deaths are rising, and people's efficiency and capacity to work are falling. She stressed awareness and joint, cooperative action between the government and various institutions.

The seminar was chaired by Professor Dr Abdus Salam, dean of Dhaka University's Faculty of Science. Professor Dr James J. Schauer of the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States spoke as special guest.

Amy Cass, an official of the US Embassy in Dhaka, moderated the programme. Separate research papers on Dhaka's air quality and air pollution were presented by Professor Dr Benjamin de Foy of Saint Louis University in the United States; associate professors Jiliam Baumgartner and Martha Lee of McGill University in Canada; Professor Shahid Uz-Zaman of the chemistry department at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology; Dr Ahmad Kamruzzaman Majumder, dean of the Faculty of Science at Stamford University; Professor Dr Zahidul Quayyum of BRAC University; Samiha Nahian, lecturer in the chemistry department at Dhaka University; and Md Ziaul Haque, director of the air quality management wing of the Department of Environment.

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