The furnace oil that spilled in the Sundarbans’s Chandpai range from an oil tanker is gradually being absorbed in the ground leading to a reduction in the volume of the oil in the water, locals have said. The oil spread…
Category: Water
No permanent shutting Shela River route: Shipping Minister
Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan has shot down an environment ministry recommendation to permanently shut down Sundarbans Shela River route. “We are not thinking about closing the route yet,” he said after an inter ministerial meeting Sunday. Ministry of Environment and…
BWP discuss project selection with focal points for climate funding
How ecosystem services can be integrated to enhance resilience of the coastal islands against climate change through planned actions to stop erosion and accelerate land accretion was the topic of a draft project proposal submitted at a consultation organised by…
Locals collect spilled oil with tubs, experts for using soaking fibre
Five days after oil tanker ‘OT Southern Star 7’ capsized in the Shela River, the authorities on Saturday started removing the spilled oil from 30 cannels of the Sundarbans engaging 200 workers. Amir Hossain, divisional forest officer (DFO) of Sundarbans…
Missing likns to the oil tanker capsize baffle experts
Khulna – Some missing links in the movement of the oil tanket – ‘OT Southern Star 7’- from mongla depot to the Shela River have surprised concerned quarters in Khulna, highly placed sources have said. It is gathered that the…
The missing oceans
Ronny Jumeau, Seychelles Ambassador for Climate Change and SIDS Issues For islanders, the ocean is never an afterthought. The ocean is at the core of every part of our lives; we are shaped by it and in turn the way…
Water needs to be put on the global climate finance agenda
Maika Müller, Global Water Partnership (GWP) Water is the common medium through which a changing climate impacts us, but it is also the bloodstream of our universal wellbeing. The impacts of climate change through water are revealed in extreme weather…
Protecting our liquid assets
Peter McCornick, International Water Management Institute Negotiators at COP20 need to take a serious look at water. The more extreme temperatures we will now face are likely to alter the amounts and distribution of rainfall, river flows, groundwater availability, and…
‘Weather bomb’ storm brings disruption to northern UK
Thousands of Scottish homes are without power as a “weather bomb” storm hits western coastal areas.
Bangladesh Water Partnership 12th AGM held
The 12th annual general meeting (AGM) of the Bangladesh Water Partnership held at the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) auditorium on Saturday decided to highlight in detail in its secretary general’s report the activities of the local area water partnerships,…
Upstream superpowers: Chinese, Indian policies more alike
by Sanjib Baruah Chinese and Indian policies on river systems are more alike than different. On November 23, the first power-generating unit of the Zangmu hydropower complex on the Yarlung Tsangpo or the Brahmaputra in China’s Tibet Autonomous Region became…
Optimum aquifer recharge, viable abstraction in Barind area urged
Optimum aquifer recharge in the Hard Barind area is very important to protect its overall public health alongside the existing agricultural ecosystem by managing a groundwater basin efficiently and effectively, scientists and researchers at a workshop here said Saturday. They…
Not proceeding with river linking if eco consequences adverse: Uma Bharti
“Government will not proceed with interlinking of rivers if environmental consequences are adverse”, says Uma Bharti, Union Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation at the India Rivers Week 2014 Sushri Uma Bharti, Union Minister of Water Resources,…
Assess state of South Asia’s rivers: B’desh paper for People’s Saarc
Mostafa Kamal Majumder A country-paper being presented from Bangladesh at the seminar on “Strengthening People’s Perspective on South Asia Water Commons” proposes the assessment of the current state of rivers and river basins in the South Asian region. Assessment of…
B’desh Speaker urged to request Modi not to interlink rivers
The Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) and Jatiya Nodi Rakkha Andolon on Sunday urged Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury to request India’s new prime minister Narendra Modi for not to implement the Indian inter-river linking project. The two environmental organizations said in…
Left Democratic Front for movement to save rivers
The Left Democratic Front on Friday called upon the people to carry forward movement to secure equitable rights on Teesta and other common rivers with a view to facing the threat to the country’s existence. The Front organised which a…
Use good relations with New Delhi to resolve water dispute
Speakers at a roundtable on Sunday stressed that good relations between Bangladesh and India should be used in resolving water dispute with the neigbouring country. “The good relations Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has with India should be used to…
Modi won’t interfere in internal politics: Hafiz hopes
BNP vice chairman Major (Retd) Hafiz Uddin Ahmed yesterday expressed his optimism that the next government of India led by Narendra Modi would not interfere in the internal politics of Bangladesh like the outgoing Congress government. “We do hope that…
Mamata’s objection blamed – water sharing bilateral issue: Hasina
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has blamed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerji and said her opposition was responsible for India and Bangladesh failing to sign the Teesta Water Sharing treaty. Bangladesh and India were all set to ink a deal…
Sign water courses convention, resolve water dispute with India, CPB-BSD
Bangladesh should take concrete steps in ensuring its fair share of water of 54 rivers, including the Teesta River, through negotiations with India, a discussion was told on Saturday. The need for Bangladesh to sign the 1997 UN convention on…
BD to take regional water issue to int’l forum: Minister
Water Resources Minister Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud on Wednesday said the government will place the regional water issue at the international forum if it fails to realise equitable share of water of trans-boundary rivers through negotiations with India. “We want…
Protect rivers around Dhaka, citizens’ meeting urges
Speakers at a views-exchange meeting here on Tuesday stressed the need for taking effective steps to protect the four rivers surrounding Dhaka city -– Buriganga, Shitalakhya, Turag and Balu — as per the High Court order issued earlier in this…
Naogaon fishers, farmers struggle as rivers running dry
The plights of farmers and fishermen dependent on rivers in the district are mounting day by day due to indiscriminate water pollution and river encroachment in addition to the diversion of water from the transboundary rivers and their tributaries on…
United efforts to secure water of common rivers must: IFC New York
The International Farakka Committee (IFC) New York Inc. at a meeting held in New York on Sunday strongly protested the unilateral withdrawal of water of common rivers at upstream in India and said this amounted to an activity against humanity,…
Are large dams economical?
From: Editor, The Ecologist A study of 245 large dams carried out at Oxford University shows that big hydropower is uneconomic. Actual costs are typically double pre-construction estimates – and have not improved over 70 years.
‘Sudden rise, fall in Teesta flow poor quality drama’
Addressing a discussion meeting at Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB), Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Saturday termed the sudden rise and the fall in Teesta water flow as a poor quality drama. “It is nothing but a joke that the water…
BNP’s Teesta long march failed: Obaidul
Communications Minister Obaidul Quader on Friday said the long march of BNP towards Teesta Barrage was a failure one. “BNP leaders indeed made a very insignificant car march in the name of long march,” he said while inspecting the renovation…
26m Bangladeshis deprived of ‘improved’ water
Arsenic, industrial pollution, salinity, decrease in groundwater level major reasons. Around 26 million people in Bangladesh do not have access to “improved” drinking water, say Unicef and the World Health Organisation. Bangladesh is among the 10 countries that are home…
Sudden rise in Teesta flow at dry season fag end remains a mystery
The government is yet to know the reason behind Tuesday’s sudden increase of Teesta water flow on the Teesta River at Dalia point of Teesta Barrage. There will be no need of water after 7 days. A highly placed source…
Teesta water level down to a half in a day
Water levels in the mercurial Teesta river have dramatically risen and fallen with a span of a few hours. On Wednesday, the water level dropped by almost half of what it was after showing a sharp rise on Tuesday. The flow…