Bangladesh
Hor No more roads on Haor's heart: Planning Minister
Dhaka, 15 January 2023 : Planning Minister MA Mannan thinks that road construction in Haor Buk is not a permanent solution.
He said, there is no road in Haor's heart. From now on, the construction of flyover road is being planned.
He said these things at the annual conference of Bangladesh Environment Movement (Bapa) and Bangladesh Environment Network (BEN) on Saturday (January 14). The theme of the conference held at Dhaka University's Kazi Motahar Hossain Bhavan Auditorium was 'Bangladesh Rivers, Rivers and Bills: Problems and Remedies'.
Due to unplanned construction of infrastructure along the coasts of the country, the problem of flooding and inundation is increasing. Therefore, the environment and nature of rivers, reservoirs and rivers should be kept in mind while making development projects. The speakers believe that the development of the country will be sustainable and the people will not suffer.
Planning Minister MA Mannan delivered the chief guest speech at the inaugural function before the technical session of the conference. Stating that no more roads will be constructed in Howar from now on, the minister said that the government is constructing a flyover road keeping in mind the topography and environment there. Another flyover will also be constructed.
Stating that the government will not do any development project by destroying the environment, he said, we believe in sustainable development. (Development projects) will be done in a way that protects the environment.
The main article was presented by the member secretary of the conference preparation committee Prof. Md. Khalekuzzaman. He said that before the construction of Howre road, we had researched and shown that at least 30 percent of the area of the road should be kept vacant by constructing culverts and bridges. Otherwise, if it starts raining upstream, it will get stuck on that road and the flooding will be prolonged and intense. But it was found that only two and a half percent of the seats were kept vacant. On the other hand, observing the long-term data of rainfall in Haor area, it was found that there used to be more rain in the month of May. Boro paddy was the only crop there before the onset of rains. As a result, the farmer would not suffer. Now it is raining in April. As a result, the flood comes and drowns the paddy before it ripens.
