Vice Chancellor of BUET Prof M Shahjahan yesterday stres sed the need for formulating a national water policy and a national water plan tor proper management and optimum utilisation of the country's water resources, reports UNB

"Water was popularly believed to be a free gift of nature in Bangladesh whose economic and efficient use was not a ma Jor concern, but blissful ignorance of the comprehensive wa ter resources planning process could not continue for long, he said.

There is a need to give due importance to social, economic and environmental aspects, particularly in the areas of desertification. salinity intrusion, erosion, sedimentation and eco system", said the Engineering University VC while inaugurat ing a four-day workshop on Water Management

The workshop, titled Planning for Integrated Water Resource Management, was organised by the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology and Delft University of Technology (BUET-DUD Linkage Project and Civil Engineering Building of BUET.

It Is sponsored by DGIS. the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands

Counsellor of the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Bang ladesh Antom RM Schutte, head of the Water Resources Engi neering Department Prof Fazlul Bari, coordinating Resident Engineer of BUET-DUT Linkage Project MCLM Van Mierlo and Project Director Prof A Hannan also spoke at the inaugural function.

Prof Shahjahan said a unified system for collection, storage, retrieval and analysis of date should be established and the policy option and analysis

should precede and accompany the formulation of the proposed national water plan to attain .the plan s short and long-term objectives

He said the Delta of Bangladesh had been created by three major river systems of the world which attract different races of mankind from all over the world.

"Rural and trading settlements were organised and a culture developed deeply influ enced by the interaction be tween man. land and water he added.

The VC said rapid population expansion, demand of growing more foodgrains, improvement of health services and certain upstream water diversion works demonstrated that this resource could no longer be taken for granted.

"The changed situation called for a new equation be-

tween man. land and water in which the selection of approprl ate planning tools and modern technology would play a crucial role." he added

Pointing out different sort of cooperation through the linkage programme with the Neth erlands university. Prof Shahjahan called for working together of the various disci plines engaged in the integrated water resource development

Anton RM Schutte called for taking and integrated water re source management approach to resolved water problem in the country as it is "dependent on the activities in the upstream countries'.

The available water resources in Bangladesh are also Strongly Interconnected and complex which means local Im provement measures will have consequences for other water users as well, he observed.