DHAKA : Prime Minister Tarique Rahman today asked the concerned authorities to restore waterways surrounding the capital to improve water-based transportation and ease urban mobility.

He also directed the authorities concerned to take effective measures to prevent pollution of the rivers surrounding Dhaka, improve the capital’s drainage system, and ensure normal water flow by maintaining navigability.

The directives came at a meeting on restoring waterways around Dhaka, chaired by the prime minister at the Cabinet Division's Conference Room at the Bangladesh Secretariat, said Prime Minister's Deputy Press Secretary Shahadat Shadhin. 

He said the meeting decided to make the waterways around Dhaka operational again. It also decided to consider proposals from interested private companies to allow them to operate water buses on the water routes. 

Shadhin said the Prime Minister also directed the authorities to plant different species of trees alongside the walkways constructed along the riverbanks to help protect the environment and enhance the scenic beauty of the rivers.

Minister for Road Transport and Bridges, Railways, and Shipping Shaikh Rabiul Alam, State Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Sheikh Faridul Islam, Mayors of Dhaka south and north city corporations Abdus Salam and Shafiqul Islam Khan and Prime Minister's Additional Press Secretary Atikur Rahman Ruman, and senior officials of the relevant ministries and agencies attended the meeting.