Impact of climate change : Coastal areas may go under water The low lying coastal areas of Southern Bangladesh may go under sea by 2100 due to global climate change, State minister for forest and environment Advocate Mostafizur Rahman Fizar told the Jatiya Sangsad yesterday. Replying to a question of Rashed Khan Menon of Workers Party, he said "there is a possibility of rising in the Bay of Bengal due to global climate change. If the projected rise in the sea level is correct, the low lying coastal areas of Bangladesh may go under water within 2100. He also apprehended that the southern part of the country might be submerged. Besides, some 16 percent area of Bangladesh may further be inundated during monsoon floods by 2080. Revealing a report of Dhaka Environment Programme, the minister said that pollutants of mills and factories have been discharged directly in the rivers surrounding the capital and the industrial waste is responsible for 60 percent pollution of these rivers. Fizar informed the House that the government has already instructed the owners of mills and factories to install effluent treatment plants (ETP) and informed about matter to the administration within June 30 with a view to protecting the rivers Buriganga, Turag and Balu from pollution. Responding to a star-marked question of absentee BNP legislator Muhammad Mosharraf Hossain, Agriculture Minister Begum Matia Chowdhury said the government has no plan, right at this moment, to supply fertiliser free of cost, as it has earlier lessened the prices of DAP, TSP and potash fertilisers soon after assuming power. She said the selling price of non-urea fertilisers have been fixed by enhancing subsidy, which came into effect from January 14, to keep their prices within the purchasing capacity of farmers with a view to boosting food production. Replying to another question of Mostaque Ahmed Ruhi of Awami League, Matia Chowdhury said misuse relating to crop processing, preservation and marketing are the causes of big risk for food safety. She added that a large portion of the crops produced in the country have usually been wasted due to lack of experience in the process of grain crushing (thrashing), preservation and marketing of the produced crops including paddy and wheat. "If we can lessen the waste by 50 percent then we can meet the total demand of food and nutrition in a large scale," Matia Chowdhury said. Defence Minister in parliamentary tasks Air Vice-Marshall (Retd) AK Khondokar informed the House that the government has prepared the draft of the National Defence Policy, which will be placed before the Parliament soon.The minister said this while replying to a question of Awami League legislator Advocate Nurul Islam Sujon. Replying to another query of Emaz Uddin Pramanik of the ruling party, AK Khondokar said, "Our armed forces are always prepared to face and protect in case of any threat on the sovereignty of the country. But this preparation is a continuous process". Responding to a question of absentee BNP lawmaker Syeda Ashifa Ashrafi Papya, the minister said the deployment of the members of the armed forces, housing (permanent and temporary camps), food and supplies, vehicles and other appliances in Chittagong Hill Tracts are being financed from the allocation for army from the defence budget since 1975. There is no additional allocation for this purpose separately, he added. |
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