Environment, Forest and Climate Change Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan today said she had delivered a strong message against those allegedly encroaching upon St Martin's Island.

She made the remarks while visiting Dhandhar Char on the Shitalakshya River in Gazipur's Kapasia upazila in the afternoon.

Regarding the enforcement of the ban on single-use plastic products, the adviser said, "Regular campaigns are currently being conducted against polythene. Now you will no longer find polythene in supermarkets."

Commenting on the government's actions against river pollution, Rizwana stressed that measures must be implemented through every possible means.

"Will you catch each river polluter one by one, or bring those who pollute rivers under a central effluent treatment plant (ETP), or shut down a few of them? You have to work with all these options. I'm doing as much as possible with four magistrates."

Rizwana also said a project involving the four rivers within Dhaka city has been finalised after consultation with the World Bank. "Hopefully, it will secure approval in December. In the project, an amount has been allocated for the Department of Environment. Besides, manpower and equipment will be managed to increase surveillance [to safeguard the rivers]."

Alongside government surveillance, industrial owners must also take responsibility, she highlighted.

"We have yet to develop effective systems for managing liquid and solid waste. The rivers can only be truly saved when all these management systems function together in a coordinated way. The environmentalists who are doing the work are helping me. I will help them as much as I can from my current responsibilities," she said.

The adviser added, "We will work as a supporting force for each other. I am already doing this. This event is to strengthen that effort."

Swedish Embassy Climate Change and Environment Department Head Nyoka Martinez Beckstrom, Director (Planning) of the Department of Environment Solaiman Haider, Director of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority AKM Arif Uddin, General Secretary of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon Alamgir Kabir, and Chairman of the Bangladesh River Foundation Monir Hossain, among others, were present on the occasion.

FP/MI