Waterkeepers Bangladesh (WKB) consortium is implementing “Promoting democratic governance and collective advocacy for environmental protection in Dhaka city” under Promoting Advocacy and Rights (PAR) Activity. This robust anti-pollution advocacy project is implementing by WKB in collaboration with USAID and Counterpart International to monitor water, air, and noise pollution in Dhaka city. This project planned to organize nine river talkies as part of the advocacy activity, and this is the number eight talkie of this series of river talkies. According to the activity plan, the Waterkeepers Bangladesh consortium organized the eighth River Talkie as part of the Anti-pollution advocacy process at Shoshan Ghat, Kaundia by the riverside of Turag on 13 October 2022. The topic of the eighth River Talkies was “River-centric life and livelihoods”. This was a different type of talk show, which was organized at the riverside by sitting with the riverbank community and discussing their problems and making them aware of river pollution. Different print media were present and it is expected that publishing the news on the event will bring river pollution into the mainstream policy discussion and help to find a way for a solution. The talk will help add value to the overall advocacy campaign. The show was broadcasted live on 13 October from 12.30 – 1.30 pm from the Turag riverside, Kaundia on WKB’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/waterkeepers…) and PAR Online Platform for CSOs. A total of 59 participated (women 3, men 56) in the river talkie. The participant profile covered the fishermen’s community, CSO leaders, activists, and the media. The show was covered by 12 print media (9 Bengali and 3 English). WKB Consortium Lead, Sharif Jamil moderated the event where there were guest speakers namely Mohammad Azaz, Chairman, River and Delta Research Center, Md. Monir Hossain, Chairman, Bangladesh River Foundation, Amzad Ali Lal, General Secretary, Aminbazar Ghat Shromik Union, and Nitta Babu Rajbongshi, Fisherman. At the beginning, the anchor of the talkie, WKB Consortium Lead, Sharif Jamil welcomed all and introduced the speakers. After that, he briefed about the concept of the river talkie and project. He also shared the objectives of the talkie and then started the discussion by sharing a few important issues of water pollution and how river-centric life and livelihoods are impacted. In the main discussion, Mohammad Azaz shared about the dependency of the fisher community on the river and how they are passing their life. Md. Monir Hossain emphasized the partnership between the relevant ministries and fishermen’s organizations. Amzad Ali Lal shared the importance of protecting the livelihood option for the fishermen’s community and dock labor. Nitta Babu Rajbongshi, a Fisherman shared his personal experiences of how the livelihoods of fishermen and boatmen are affected by the river pollution of Turag. At the end of the program, Sharif Jamil summed up the important comments that community people need to be aware of and be included in the development planning. Turag must be saved to save Dhaka as well as riverine country, he said.
River Talkies-8: “River-centric life and livelihoods”
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