Take up eco-friendly sustainable development projects
Development projects involving embankment, irrigation and electricity often cause harm to environment and people, they said.
The seminar titled 'Poor people, poorer rivers : Growth paradox in South Asia' was jointly organised by Trans-boundary river group of Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon (Bapa) and Civil Engineering Division of the Institution of Engineers Bangladesh (IEB) at the seminar hall of the IEB in the capital.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. The speakers said due to urbanisation and anti-environmental developmental projects, demands of water are increasing day by day whereas usable water are decreasing sharply in the country.
They said the amount of usable water per person has decreased 70 percent in last 55 years while demands of water increased by 17 percent during the same period.
The speakers fear that the total water flow will be marginalised further with the withdrawal of waters in the upstream of the Himalayan rivers.
They warned that the gradual reduction of water flow in the rivers would also bring down the groundwater table causing severe environmental disasters
Leading water expert Prof Ainun Nishat said the use of surface and deep water is increasing indiscriminately through irrigation which is the main cause for bringing down the ground water table in the country.
"Though Bangladesh has finalised National Water Plan but it is not implementing it," said Nishat, also the country representatives of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
"Thousands of people are becoming homeless due to bank erosion of 234 rivers most of which originated from India. Only river training can protect people from the erosion and for this purpose government should identify the erosion-prone point and build embankment on both side of the rivers," he added.
Dr Sudhirendar Sharma, chairman of Ecology Foundation in New Delhi, said development projects especially the infrastructure development projects are not favourable for flow of river water, environment and poor people.
Renowned economist Dr Atiur Rahman said development works should be taken on basin-base wise such as Ganga basin, Brahmaputra basin and Meghna basin.
"India and Bangladesh should work together for the greater interest of South Asian countries," he added.
Currently, the Brahmaputra is the source of 90 percent water in dry season followed by the Meghna with 9 per cent. In rainy season again, the Brahmaputra remains the major source of water with 51 percent flow, followed by the Ganges with 24 percent and the Meghna with 15 per cent, he added.
Engineer Kabir Ahmed Bhuiyan, chairman of Civil Engineering Division of IEB, presided over the seminar which was also addressed by Prof Feroze Ahmed of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) and Prabin Man Singh of Water and Energy Users' Federation (WAFED) in Nepal.