The government has formed a high-profile committee to prepare a master plan to restore the navigability of the rivers surrounding Dhaka, including the Buriganga, Turag, Sitalakhya and Balu, and the Karnaphuli of Chittagong port city.Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain will lead the committee as its chairman while its co-chairmen are Water Resources Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud and Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan, said a handout of the Shipping Ministry on Thursday referring a circular issued from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
The other members of the committee are the Navy chief, mayors of both Dhaka South and North City Corporations; PMO principal secretary; senior secretary of the Home Ministry, secretaries of Fisheries and Livestock Ministry, Hosing and Public Works Ministry, Local Government Division, Environment and Forests Ministry and Shipping Ministry; commissioners of Dhaka and Chittagong divisions; PMO director general-3; chairman of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority; deputy commissioners of Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj and Chittagong districts; two representatives from civil society; and PMO director general (admin).The committee will formulate a master plan to check pollution and increase navigability in the rivers around Dhaka city and the Karnaphuli. It will hold at least one meeting every month and form a technical committee to prepare the master plan. A draft master plan will be prepared and be submitted to the government within the next three months.The PMO will monitor and coordinate all the works of the committee.
source:UNB
