The chief advisor Prof. Muhammad Yunus has expressed dissatisfaction about the longer delay in the implementation of the Sayedabad water treatment plant (phase-3) and the Meghna River Protection Master Plan.
At a meeting that took place in the State Guesthouse Jamuna yesterday, he said: “It is alarming that such a decisive project has been in such a decisive project for almost 10 years. Excessive spread of the groundwater endangers the environment, but working on an available solution has not started,” he said.
For all the latest news, follow the Google News Channel from Daily Star. High -ranking civil servants from the local government, Dhaka Wasa, the physical infrastructure department of the planning commission, the Department of Economic Relations (earth), the Ministry of the Environment, Forest and Climate Change as well as the Ministry of Environment took part in the meeting. SDG chef coordinator Lamia Morshed and the chief secretary Siraj Uddin Mia were also present.
Yunus instructed the corresponding ministries and departments to identify obstacles that delay the projects and examine cost reduction measures.
Officials stated that 70 percent of the water supply from Dhaka comes from underground sources and that groundwater levels drop by 2 to 3 meters annually, which is a serious risk of sustainability. The Meghna River Protection Master Plan aims to fix this by providing an environmentally friendly water supply system via the Sayedabad treatment plant.
Germany, France, Denmark and the European Union have promised support for the project and can increase funding if necessary. Despite the preparations a decade ago, the implementation does not have to be started.
With the rivers Buriganga and Shitalakhya, which are heavily polluted and unusable, the government prioritizes the protection of the Meghna river as an important water source.
“There is great concern about the Meghna River. We have to act quickly to save it. If the rivers are Bangladesh's environmentally free, it should be free government priority, or we risk making the region uninhabitable,” said Yunus.
He instructed the authorities to complete all administrative procedures and to start the project implementation within the current financial year.