BSS, Dhaka
Although Bangladesh is facing various water related challenges, the country has brought its 91 percent people under safe water coverage and it has enhanced its efforts to introduce environment friendly water management system.
Bangladesh’s water sector is facing significant challenges including arsenic mitigation, lowering of water table, climate change impact and rampant pollution, they told a seminar in the auditorium of Department of Public Health and Engineering(DPHE) here On Tuesday.
NGO Forum for Public Health in cooperation with DPHE, United Nations Children’s Fund, United Nations Information Centre, Dhaka WASA and different other local and international organizations jointly organized the seminar titled “Recognizing Works in Water”.
Secretary of Local Government Division (LGD) Kazi Abdul Malek, Managing Director of Dhaka WASA Engr Taqsem A Khan, Project Director of Policy Support Unit Kazi Abdul Noor, Executive Director of NGO Forum for Public Health SMA Rashid and Chief of Nutrition Section of UNICEF Anuradha Narayan, among others, addressed the seminar with DPHE Chief Engineer Md Wali Ullah in the chair. The World Water Day is being celebrated in the country as elsewhere in the world with the theme “Water and Jobs”. Malek said, “In Bangladesh, 75 million people are facing arsenic related health risk with above 20 million people being victims of potentials arsenic contamination. The fight against arsenic contamination in Bangladesh often seems to be downplayed which is unfortunate for our rural people who are living in the arsenic hotspot areas.”