Buriganga River Carnival

October 25, 2022
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Hundreds’ of people participated in the colorful event ‘Buriganga River Carnival: In Pursuit of Pollution Free River’ with the slogan “Pollution-free Buriganga is the demand of Dhaka residents” on Saturday 10 September 2022. Buriganga River Coalition and Waterkeepers Bangladesh Consortium jointly organized the event at Kamrangirchar of Dhaka. Government officials, political leaders, local elected bodies, community people, CBOs attended the event. The event was organized in two segments, i.e., Inauguraion session held during 10:30 am to 12:00 pm and Colorful boat rally during 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm. Prior to the main event, community people with colorful processions organized by CBOs joined the event in the morning. People protested against river pollution with hundreds of festoons and placards with different messages.

The inaugural of the carnival held at Muslimbagh Tower Math adjacent to Thoda gudara ghat. Former adviser of Bangladesh caretaker government and eminent human rights activist Sultana Kamal presided over the event. Advocate Qamrul Islam, honorable Member of Parliament of Dhaka-2 was present in the event as guest of honour. Five Ward Councilors of Dhaka South City Corporation were present in the occasion and expressed their solidarity to protect the river from pollution. They are Mr. Saidul Islam Madbor (ward no 57), Ms. Shefali Begum (female councilor 55,56 and 57), Mr. Mokaddes Hossain Zahid (ward 24), Mr. Mohammad Hossain (ward 56) and Mr. Nure E Alam Chowdhury (ward 55).

Ms. Kristin McCare, Director, Office of Democracy, Human Rights and Governance, USAID Bangladesh; Mr. Humayun Kabir, General Secretary, Bangladesh Awami League, Dhaka City South; and Mr. Md. Rokibul Islam Talukder, Chief Engineer Dredging, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) attended the Buriganga River Carnival as special guests.

Sharif Jamil, Lead, Waterkeepers Bangladesh Consortium moderated the inaugural session and provided a brief overview and introduction to the Buriganga River Carnival. Mr. Mainuddin Ahamed, Chief of Party, PAR, Counterpart International; Mr. Md. Shahidullah, Joint-Director, Dhaka Port, BIWTA; Mr. Md. Monir Hossain, Environmental Expert, National River Conservation Commission (NRCC) and Mr. K N Roy Neyoti, Assistant Commissioner, Lalgagh Zone, Dhaka Metropolitan Police delivered speech during the inaugural session of the event. Professor Ahmad Kamruzzama Majumder, Dean Environmental Science, Stamford University Bangladesh provided vote of thanks on behalf of the organizers of the event.

Participants of the Buriganga River Carnival attended in a boat rally with about hundred decorated boats cruised on the Buriganga River from Thoda gudara ghat to Babubazar Bridge, Babubazar bridge to Kholamora ghat and from Kholamora ghat to Thoda ghat. Colorful festoons, event t-shirt and cap made the carnival festive and colorful. Female participants were provided with special Saree to participate in the event, which make the event more colorful. The Buriganga River Carnival has been covered by print and electronic media with high importance. Prominent national dailies including the Daily Prothom Alo published photo and story on its cover page.

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