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Water Development in Bangladesh: Past, Present and Future
Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) organized a seminar on “Water Development in Bangladesh: Past, Present and Future” on March 10, 2022 in the BIDS Conference Room. Dr. S. Nazrul Islam, Chief of Development Research, UN-DESA discussed the themes of his recently published book in this seminar. Mr. M. A. Mannan, MP, Minister of Planning of Bangladesh was the chief guest of this seminar. Dr. Shamsul Alam, State Minister of Planning of Bangladesh attended this seminar as the special guest. Dr. Sujit Kumar Bala, Professor of Institute of Water and Flood Management, BUET was the designated discussant in this seminar. The seminar was held in a hybrid mode.
In this seminar, Dr. Islam talked about the conceptual framework necessary to discuss water policies and how to use this framework to conduct a comprehensive review of the water development projects that were implemented in the past. He also mentioned about the merit of water projects such as Cordon Approach, Open Approach and the Delta Plan that are either currently under implementation or planned to be implemented, along with offering directions in which water development should proceed in the future. Dr. Islam pointed out the discrepancies in the Delta plan and the projects stating the plan does not reflect the project. He added that, the projects were repetitions of an earlier policy which took a toll on our water management as it was not inclusive. Moreover, Dr. Islam presented the devastating situation due to Cordon approach and underlined the need for an open approach.
This seminar was attended by BIDS researchers, eminent economists of the country, policy makers, civil society, media and the wider community. Dr. Binayak Sen, Director General BIDS presided over this event.
Pdf Link here