Thirty percent of air pollution comes from our neighboring countries: Environment Advisor of Bangladesh
Thirty percent of air pollution comes from neighboring countries, said Syeda Rizwana Hasan, a leading environmentalist and advisor in Bangladesh’s Interim Government, in charge of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MOEFCC), Bangladesh and the Ministry of Water Resources (MOWR), Bangladesh.
She said that 28 percent comes from power plants and 13 percent comes from construction and industrial pollution. We need to take effective steps to solve these problems.
She spoke as the chief guest at the ‘Global Climate Negotiations: Challenges and Priorities for Bangladesh’ program held at BIISS on December 23, afternoon.
The advisor said that a task force has already been formed to prevent air pollution. This task force has been divided into 14 teams and will conduct campaigns in Dhaka, Narayanganj, Gazipur and Savar from December 28.
“The task force will oversee construction, shut down illegal brick kilns, and implement water spraying to reduce dust. However, air pollution will not be fixed overnight,” she added.
Syeda Rizwana Hasan expressed her frustration, stating, “I am weary of constantly listening to plans.” There is no visible initiative in making and implementing plans. The Ministry of Environment should not just make plans but play an active role at the field level.”
She said, “Brick kilns and steel mills should be closed for a few days and power plants need to be kept under strict surveillance. In addition, at least grass should be planted in open areas.”
She stated, “We have identified 21 canals in Dhaka, and we are in the final stages of re-excavating them to restore the environment.”
“We need more time and effort to address long-term environmental issues, even if we act promptly,” she added.
She further mentioned, “We are destroying everything and reconstructing it. But no one is interested in walking next to Hatirjheel because there is still a bad smell there. However, we must continue the work of environmental reconstruction.”
