'Formulate haor policy to protect biodiversity'

Save the Environment Movement and Jono Udyog form a human chain at Shahbagh in the city yesterday with a call to formulate a national policy on haor to protect the environment and bio-diversity. PHOTO: STAR

They also demanded steps to ensure common people's rights to wetlands through proper development plan and declaration of certain haors as sanctuary to conserve biodiversity.

The demands came from a human chain programme jointly organised by the Save the Environment Movement and Jono Udyog at Shahbagh in the city.

Speaking on the occasion, the environmentalists said about 95 percent of the wetlands in the country is in the grip of influential people who are using the banner of 'fishermen'.

But the genuine fishermen and marginalised people living around the haors are doubly victimised as, on the one hand, they have to face natural disasters and, on the other, they were evicted from their areas by the influential people, but the local administrations remains indifferent, they said.

They called on the government to take initiatives for proper management and development of haors in order to ensure welfare of the poor people and fishermen of the disaster-prone areas and conserve the biodiversity which are on the verge of extinction.

Convenor of Save the Environment Movement Abu Naser Khan, Director of Haor Development Board Engineer Enamul Haque, Secretary General of Peace Iqma Hossain, Advocate Abed Reza, Dr Jasmine Ara Sultana, Sushanto Sarkar of Jono Udyog, and Haji Ansar Ali of Dhaka Jagoron spoke at the programme.