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Editorial

Digging to resurrect dead rivers

A commendable move, indeed


Bangladeshpost
Published : 05 Oct 2020 08:01 PM | Updated : 06 Oct 2020 12:36 AM

It is good to note that the government has undertaken a massive plan to excavate 178 rivers of the country to make around 10,500 kilometres of waterways, which have either dried up or disappeared, navigable by 2025.

Reportedly, one of the main components of the project is forestation on the banks of the rivers and adjoining areas.

Having forests right next to waterways is highly beneficial to water quality and ecosystems. Forested riverbanks act like a sponge, filtering out excessive nutrients, sediment, and pollutants. Trees are also able to prevent riverbank erosion by anchoring the soils, keeping the banks stable and holding excess sediment.

Non-forested riverbanks exhibit more erosion than forested banks. Besides reinforcing bank stability, trees also prevent flood debris from entering agricultural fields. 


Plantation of trees along riverbanks will 

help prevent river erosion and protect biodiversity 

in the project areas


We hope that the government’s initiative to plant trees along riverbanks will help prevent river erosion and protect biodiversity in the project areas. Also trees along riverbanks will provide a unique form of aesthetics and beauty to the landscape.

Most of the country’s rivers have been illegally occupied by influential people and numerous institutions, destroying the entire ecological balance and natural beauty. More than a hundred rivers have already died since independence. 

It is high time that the government takes a holistic and unbiased approach to save the rivers across the country from encroachment. We have made mistakes in the way we treated our rivers so far. Let us not continue to make those mistakes in future.

What is desired now is a concerted and well-deployed move fuelled by adequate allocation of resources to save our rivers. Practice of wastage dumping into the rivers should be stopped. Besides, steps should be taken so that new installations could not be built filling rivers. Water bodies of the country should be recovered for ensuring natural balance and protecting environment keeping pace with development and urbanisation.