Dhaka wants new deal, not renewal: Anee

Bangladesh wants a new water-sharing agreement with India over the Ganges instead of renewing the existing deal, Water Resources Minister Md Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Anee said on Thursday.

He said the new agreement should include a guarantee clause and ensure protection of Bangladesh’s national interests.

The minister made the remarks while addressing a high-level event in Gulshan organised by Team European Union on pollution control, conservation and management of rivers surrounding Dhaka.

Anee said rivers are key drivers of Bangladesh’s economy, but industrialisation and climate change are putting increasing pressure on the country’s waterways.

He stressed the need to identify the main causes of river pollution and take effective measures to control it, saying an integrated and long-term approach was needed to protect rivers around Dhaka, restore navigability and ensure their natural flow.

The Buriganga, Turag, Balu, Shitalakkhya and Dhaleshwari rivers must be kept free from pollution and encroachment, he said, calling their protection a major government priority.

Anee urged relevant agencies to properly perform their responsibilities to prevent the dumping of industrial waste, sewage and solid waste into rivers.

River pollution cannot be controlled by a single ministry or agency, he said, calling for coordinated action by the ministries and agencies responsible for water resources, environment, shipping, local government, city corporations, industries and RAJUK.

People living along rivers, industries and civil society also have a role to play in protecting the waterways, he added.

The minister warned that obstruction of the natural flow of rivers could worsen waterlogging, environmental imbalance and public suffering. Canals and water bodies connected to rivers must therefore also be protected, he said.

He said the government should continue restoring links between rivers and canals and ensure water flow through excavation and re-excavation where necessary. Programmes have already been taken up to excavate and re-excavate rivers, canals and water bodies across the country, he added.

The director general of the All Party Parliamentary Group, Bangladesh Parliament, the Asian Development Bank country director, the European Union minister-counsellor and head of development cooperation, and the ambassadors of France and the Netherlands, among others, spoke at the event.