Staff Correspondent

Environmental and public health experts on Thursday called for ensuring the protection of marginalized communities including women and children to ensure smart and sustainable urbanization. They said that urban solid waste management affects the well-being of all sections of the society equally. The experts said, necessary recommendations have been formulated to ensure environmentally friendly solid waste management to achieve sustainable development goals by 2030. Now, it is important to include the recommendations in election manifestos and pledges of political parties, they observed.

The experts made the observations while speaking at a press conference organized by Dushtha Shasthya Kendra (DSK) and its consortium member organizations-Barsik, Cup and Insights- held at the National Press Club. Presided over by Hosne Ara Begum Rafeza, president of Bastibasi Odhikar Suraksha Committee, the press conference was addressed by Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) teacher Prof Ijaz Ahmed, public health expert Dr. Lelin Chowdhury, former additional director general of the Department of Environment, Engr Md. Abdus Sobhan. Coalition for the Urban Poor (CUP) Executive Director Khondkar Rebecca San-Yat, Bersik Project Manager Ferdous Ahmed, DSK Coordinator Md. Rakibul Islam, Youth Representative Shahinoor Akhter, Fatema Akhter, Cup Project Manager Mahbul Haque and Nigar Rahman of Insights.

Public health expert Dr. Lelin Chowdhury said, “Our political parties and government take the marginalized people very seriously in decision-making. Dhaka city occupies the top place in the world in terms of pollution. And one of its victims is the marginalized community. In terms of public health, the marginalized people of Dhaka city are the most marginalized, he added.

Prof Dr. Ijaz Hossain said that 70 percent of Dhaka city's waste is collected, so where does the remaining 30 percent of waste go? These wastes can be used to produce organic fertilizers. Organic matter in our agricultural land has dropped below one percent, which is a matter of grave concern for us. There is no alternative to returning organic matter to agricultural land to restore agricultural land fertility, he said.

Engr Md. Abdus Sobhan said, in view of the parliamentary elections, political parties, individual parties have the same responsibility, citizens also have the same responsibility. He said that the environment protection law in the country was made in 1995 but the solid waste management rules were made in 2021. This shows how serious the governments are about the country's environment.

It is expected that the government will be more proactive in solid waste management and political parties will implement it after the election, he added.