News Desk : dhakamirror.com
Speakers at a programme emphasised the need of using surface water for agricultural purposes instead of the rampant use of groundwater to save the vast Barind tract held at Rajshahi University on Saturday.
The groundwater level is depleting continuously, and if we do not take prompt actions to mitigate the pressure on the groundwater use, we may face a severe drought in near future in the Barind region, they observed at the two-day National Drought Convention 2023.
Participatory Research and Action Network, in collaboration with different like-minded organisations, hosted the convention to enhance the drought resilience coupled with reducing risks and promoting proactive planning, adaptation and management.
Parliamentary standing committee chairman on the ministry of environment, forest and climate change Saber Hossain Chowdhury addressed as chief guest while KHANI Bangladesh vice president Rezaul Karim Siddiq Rana presided over the inaugural session.
Parliamentary Caucus on Adibasi and Minority convenor Fazle Hossain Badsha, parliamentary standing committee on public accounts member Omar Faruk Chowdhury, RU vice chancellor Professor Golam Sabbir Sattar and ActionAid Bangladesh country director Farah Kabir addressed as guests of honour while RU economics department chairman Professor ANK Noman was present as keynote speaker at the inaugural ceremony.
Golam Sabbir Sattar said that the rampant extraction of groundwater for paddy farming, rice mill operations and other industrial purposes, and the trend of decreasing rainfall were affecting the drought-prone Barind tract severely.
He also feared that there might be another famine like The Great Bengal famine of 1770 if proper and timely actions were not taken to protect the region,
Fazle Hossain Badsha said that the government in the ‘80s established the Barind Multipurpose Development Authority to solve the water crisis for irrigation purposes in the Barind region.
‘By extracting groundwater ram, BMDA has made the region a drought-affected one. Agriculture in this region can no longer be carried forward using groundwater. We must use the surface water for agricultural purposes to save the region,’ he added.
Omar Faruk Chowdhury said that in some areas the groundwater level dropped to 15.9 meters in the region, causing the tube wells and deep tube-wells to defunct.
Saber Hossain Chowdhury said that according to an IPCC report, the rice and wheat production in Bangladesh would decrease by 28 per cent within 2030 due to drought.
‘If we fail to resolve the problem, the rate of progress in poverty alleviation will be hindered,’ he said, adding, ‘The only solution to drought is to reduce the dependence on groundwater.’
He also said that the government was investing three and a half billion dollars to combat climate change in Bangladesh.
The convention will end today. State minister for foreign affairs Shahriar Alam will be present as chief guest while professor at Dhaka University development studies department Kazi Maruful Islam will preside over the closing session.
