A bicycle rally and public gathering were held in Pekua upazila of Cox's Bazar District on Friday as part of a global protest demanding climate justice.
The bicycle rally began from Pekua Bazaar, circled the key roads of the upazila, and concluded with a public gathering on the upazila parishad premises on Friday at 10.00am.
Environmental and climate-focused citizen organization ‘Dharitri Rokkhai Amra’ (We to Save the Earth) and the international environmental group Waterkeepers Bangladesh jointly organized the rally and the public gathering. The event was presided over by retired teacher Nazrul Zafar.
The assembly was moderated by environmental activist Delwar Hossain. Durjoy Biswas, Officer-in-Charge (Investigation) of Pekua Police Station, M Abdullah Ansari, General Secretary of Pekua Press Club, Muslim Azad, Chairman of Youth Action Bangladesh and journalist, and Jalal Uddin, an environmental activist and journalist spoke at the programme.
The speakers said that due to the failure of developed countries to honour their commitments, developing and underdeveloped nations are continuously facing risks due to the impacts of climate change.
They also called for investments in renewable energy sources instead of fossil fuels, not only in Bangladesh but also in other countries. Otherwise, countries like Bangladesh will become uninhabitable for living creatures.
The speakers further emphasized that the dependence on fossil fuels in Bangladesh is increasing, which is linked to environmental damage and climate change. The coastal regions of the country are particularly at a high risk due to the adverse effects of climate change. With the rising sea levels, the weather patterns have become more extreme, putting biodiversity at risk.
