Univ students at camp 'to save rivers'

University students at camp 'to save rivers'
University students at camp 'to save rivers'

Some 35 students from universities across the country joined a four-day camp in the capital’s National Academy for Educational Management (NAEM) to voice their concern about rivers.

The ‘River Camp’ 2018, with a slogan ‘In Search of Youth Leaders for Rivers’, concluded on Sunday night, said a news release.

Water expert and professor Emeritus at BRAC University Ainun Nishat inaugurated the camp earlier on Thursday morning.

The youth took part in a field visit to Raj Rajeshwar island in Chandpur district to witness livelihoods of riverine people and sand mining in the river Meghana after an intensive theoretical training, said the release.

In the camps, various academics and researchers shared their knowledge on river issues such as rights to rivers of the dependent communities and rights of the river. The session on rights was conducted by Syeda Rizwana Hasan, chief executive of BELA, one on river ecology by Istiak Sobhan, a senior specialist of the World Bank in Dhaka, and the one on river-based communications by Syed Monowar Hossain, former secretary of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA).

At the concluding session , former Bangladesh Bank governor Atiur Rahman, said, “The youth liberated Bangladesh and these youth can save the rivers, too.”

“If we can create new leaders, wjo will be saviours of both us and the next generation.”

Appreciating the initiative for camp, Syed Monoar Hossain said, “If we fail to take serious initiative, the country will die.”

Bangladeshi organisation Riverine People in association with Center for Natural Resource Studies (CNRS) organised the camp to help build youth leadership to save rivers.

The event was held under the ‘Trans-boundary Rivers for Our Sustainable Development (TROSA) initiative funded by the international development organisation Oxfam and Swedish government.’