Haor areas need to be developed as flood-tolerant, says Minister

Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya on Thursday stressed the need for developing the haor areas in the country as flood-tolerant.
Speaking at a workshop in the city, he said that it is not possible to build a disaster-tolerant Bangladesh excluding the haor areas.
Citing a need for coordinated efforts, he also added that the challenges faced in water drainage, not maintaining a proper dam during floods and lack of coordination among different agencies concered have prevented the haors from becoming flood-tolerant.
Various challenges, along with its solutions, were identified by a committee which was formed, helmed by his ministry and including several other ministries, offices and departments.
National Professor Dr Jamilur Reza Chowdhury, Professor Emeritus Dr Ainun Nishat and other disaster management experts were also present on the occasion.