Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said work is going on to ensure safe water supply from surface water sources to all the divisional cities by 2021.
“Projects are underway to ensure safe water from surface water sources in Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna and other divisional cities by 2021. The government wants to supply safe water to all before 2030 as per Sustainable Development Goal’s (SDG) timeframe. By implementing Vision 2021, we’ll ensure safer water for all by 2021,” she said.
The prime minister said this while inaugurating Dhaka Water Conference in Dhaka yesterday.
She said the government has formulated the National Water Policy 1999, the Water Supply and Sewerage Act 1996 and the National Water Supply and Sanitation Act 2014.
She also said implementation of National Policy for Arsenic Mitigation and Implementation Plan (NAMIP) and a project to mitigate arsenic related problems is underway.
“The government allocated 149bn taka for these projects during the last eight years,” she said, adding that currently various projects costing 320bn taka are now being
implemented.
She said some 7,000 ponds have already been desalinated by filtering their water and 32,600 deep tube-wells have been installed in the salinity-affected areas, and 4,700 reservoirs have been constructed to preserve rainwater.
In the capital, the Prime Minister said, new canals are being excavated, and initiatives are on to re-excavate the old ones and preserve the reservoirs. Steps are also underway to build reservoirs installing rainwater harvesting system and draining out wastes and polluted water.
Taking assistance from 12 development partners, the government has initiated a 100-year exemplary plan titled ‘Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100’ for coordinated water resources management, Hasina said adding, “Under the plan availability of water, its uses and ecological issues have been brought under consideration.”
Besides, she said, Bangladesh has been divided into six divisions under the plan considering the geological diversity and water features where plane land, hill and coastal areas are designed in different plans.
She said the government has put emphasis on reducing the use of groundwater and preservation of surface water and its use.
Putting high importance on water management issue, the prime minister requested the delegates to find out a way to stop river erosion that has been gnawing at cropland in
Bangladesh.
She mentioned that the effect of climate change is creating new problems for the whole world including Bangladesh.
Talking about the salinity problem, Hasina said that scientists in Bangladesh do their research on the issue and invented salinity-tolerant crops.