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Form Haor Development Corporation

Speakers urge govt at roundtable

Staff Correspondent
Speakers at a roundtable yesterday urged the government to form an autonomous Haor Development Corporation for the overall development of haors and the people living in adjoining areas.
They said a huge amount of cultivable land in haors remains unused every year due to lack of government's sustainable development policy.
If this land could be utilised properly, the country would not have to face food scarcity, they added.
The roundtable was organised jointly by Nagonk Sanghati and Weekly Britter Bairn at the National Press Club in the capital.
The speakers said there are haors in 48 upazilas of seven districts and one-fifth of the total production of Aman and one-third of Boro come from these areas.
But the farmers in these areas cannot harvest the fruit of their labour due to draught, flood and waterlogging, they said, adding even the seeds and fertilisers are not always available due to bad communications.
The speakers stressed the need for coordinated efforts for the development of haor areas by declaring it as 'special zone' and allocating adequate budget for disaster management.
Former minister Dr M Osman Farooq said short and long-term actions should be taken to develop the haor areas.
He said agricultural assistance should be provided to yield maximum quantity from the existing varieties of crops.
Besides, modem technologies should be used for preservation and marketing of fishes, while solar power and windmill could be established in those areas for power generation, he added.
Dr Farooq also suggested formation of an autonomous Haor Development Corporation as the
present Haor Development Board isnotw’orkingatall.
"Most of our plans lie unimplemented due to lack of coordination, said economist Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, suggesting a coordinated haor development policy alongside the national development planning on priority basis.
The speakers also placed specific recommendations for the development of infrastructure, agriculture, livestock, biodiversity, land and water management, education, health and sanitation of the people living in haor areas.
M Taher Uddin read out the keynote paper at the round table.
Nagorik Sanghati President Prof ASM Atikur Rahman of Dhaka University, former secretary Syed Abdul Muktadir, Weekly Britter Baire Editor Abu Rayhan and Awami League leader Nurul Islam Nahid also spoke on the occasion.