& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Wetland Destruction

Dhaka faces disaster

Fear urban planners

Staff Correspondent
The ongoing reckless destruction of wetlands in and around the capital will lead to environmental disasters and urban flooding, said urban planners at a workshop yesterday.
Dhaka will face a large scale disaster if water bodies, canals and ponds are destroyed through earth filling at the present rate, said Prof Sarwar Jahan of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology's urban and regional planning department.
Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a Delhi-based environment research organisation, in association with Work for a Better Bangladesh (WBB) Trust organised the workshop, “Conservation of Dhaka Lakes”, at the latter's premises in the capital.
Nobody is taking into consideration that real estate development through the destruction of wetlands is not sustainable as it will ultimately lead to the loss of food supply, biodiversity, drainage facilities and recreational opportunities, he said.
Lakes, ponds and wetlands are vital in the recharging of ground water supplies, controlling urban temperature and preventing urban flooding, he said.
Hundreds of Dhaka's ponds, no more
existent, used to be sources of water for bathing and household chores in the yester years, said Prof Jahan, while less than half of 47 canals remain today in name only.
Associate Profishrat Islam of the department said wetlands, though in many ways related to people's survival, were viewed as wastelands in the general mindset.
Wetlands must not be considered as mere land in monetary terms as it has profound economic and social worth as vital elements for agriculture, fishing, recreation and ecological conservation, she said.
The city's entire eastern fringe, with extensive low lying wetlands and canals, used to be a huge natural water retention area. But there will be no wetlands left in the city after 2030 if the destruction goes on at the present rate, said Ishrat.
The governments must demonstrate honest intent for wetland conservation as land grabbers maintain strong connection with political quarters and do not care about regulatory agencies and mass media, she said.
CSE Deputy Program Manager Susmita Sengupta, WBB Trust Director Syed Mahbubul Alam and Advocate Taslima Islam of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association also spoke on the occasion.