Helena Begum, Gazipur City

Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Adviser to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, said, "No matter how influential the illegal encroachers are, action will be taken against them.

Strict steps will be taken to protect forest land and the environment. Necessary measures will also be taken to stop deforestation and pollution from industries."

The advisor said these as the chief guest at a view-sharing meeting on forest and environment conservation at the Gazipur Deputy Commissioner's Conference Room on Saturday morning.

Later, she attended a conference titled 'Youth Conference for River Conservation' at the PTI Auditorium in Gazipur on Saturday afternoon with the aim of making the youth aware of rivers and natural balance and utilizing their collective strength. The advisor said that out of the 90 acres of forest land illegally occupied in Gazipur after August 5, 16 acres have already been recovered and that the district administrators have been instructed to start the work of determining the boundaries of the forest immediately. He also said that we know how to work to prevent forest encroachers. A plan has been made to recover the occupied land within the next three months. The Department of Environment will have to observe all aspects before issuing the clearance and take the opinion of the people during the renewal.

At the meeting, advisor Syeda Rizwana Hasan said, we pollute the river for many reasons. Among them, three major reasons cause more pollution. One is industrial pollution, waste from city corporations-municipalities and sewage from factories.

Added to this is plastic pollution. She said, more than half of the people of Bangladesh travel by river. The still dead, occupied rivers play a major role in our transportation. Due to our irresponsible actions, the young generation is facing a terrible disaster like climate change. The next generation, for whom we build cars and houses, and save money, will face terrible problems. They will be affected by the adverse effects of the environment. If we cannot give the next generation a pollution-free river, where will they get water, where will they get fish? If they do not get fish, then instead of being Bengalis on fish and rice, they will become Bengalis on farm chickens and rice! She also said that these plastics fall into the rivers.

Regarding polythene bags, she said, many people tell me that plastic bags have not been banned yet. I say, when you go to the market and the shopkeeper gives you a polythene bag, you take it. You, as a buyer, say, "I won't take this, it has been banned since 2012." Your parents used to go to the market with a jute bag. Why don't you take a jute bag from home? The buyers have to say, "We won't take this." Even if the shopkeeper wants to give it, if the buyers don't take it, then there will be a lot of resistance.

The buyers have become accustomed to using plastic. You tell the shopkeepers, "It's not only banned, it's very harmful to me." The government is working to remove this polythene. Now the point is that the buyers also have to be aware. As the young generation, you should boycott plastic, stop using it, if you want change, we all have to change first. Regarding the occupation of rivers, he said, "We should see rivers as a beautiful living system." Can we create rivers? If we can't create them, then why destroy them? No industrial owner has been given any right to turn rivers into industrial factories. No owner in any country in the world has been given this right.

She said that the new generation should look at development in a new way. Our air is the most polluted air in the world. Our rivers are one of the sources of pollution. The development that pollutes your air, kills your rivers, the development that takes away your agricultural land, the development that mixes micrograms with your mother's milk. That development is not actually development. It is time for our country to look at development in a new way. We have called big shopping mall flyovers development.

You should not say that. Your definition of development should include pollution-free flowing rivers, your definition of development should include forests and wild animals. The conference was chaired by Mukit Majumder Babu, Chairman of Prakriti O Jiban Foundation, and moderated by Monir Hossain, Chairman of Bangladesh River Foundation. Dr. Kalidasan Kalisam, Manager of Global Environment Center Malaysia, gave a virtual speech at the beginning of the conference. Gazipur Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dr. Md. Nazmul Karim Khan, Gazipur Deputy Commissioner Nafisa Arefin, Gazipur District Police Superintendent Dr. Chowdhury Md. Jaber Sadek, Chairman of River and Delta Research Center Mohammad Ejaz, President of Bangladesh Cutter Suction Dredger World Association Bashir Ahmed, President of Bangladesh Multipurpose Jute Production Rashedul Karim Munna and Chairman of International Water Association Mohammad Anwar Hossain were present.