No scope for polls to go beyond June next year

Reiterating the interim government's stance on voting, Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan on Friday said the next national elections would be held between December this year and June next year as committed by Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus.

She also said the interim government did not take on the responsibility of running the country solely to conduct elections.

"The Chief Adviser has given a deadline to hold the election between December this year and June next year, there is no scope to go beyond this from our side," she said.

"Also there should not have been different types of discussions (by different platforms) as a timeframe has already been announced," she added.

Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and Water Resources Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan made the remarks while talking to journalists following the '24th National Conference and AGM of the Zoological Society of Bangladesh held at the Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Building on the Dhaka University campus.

She also said they discussed the issue following advisory council meeting on Thursday.

They got three responsibilities-- reform, trial and to hold election-- all of them are complex, she said.

The adviser also said, since they took over the responsibility last year, different organisations have been occupying the streets to press home their demands leaving Dhaka city virtually inactive.

Responding to questions about whether the administration is under pressure, she said it was challenging for them to discharge their duties accordingly amid agitations held by different organisations to press home their respective demands.

"If we can't fulfill our responsibilities, we have no relevance here. Each of us also has individual responsibilities." she added.

Earlier, addressing the conference she said Dhaka's four major rivers-Buriganga, Turag, Dhaleshwari, and Shitalakkhya-are going to be restored.

The theme of the conference was "Protecting Biodiversity from Pollution: Bridging Solution for a Healthier Planet.

The work will begin with the Turag River, supported by funding from the World Bank (WB) and Asian Development Bank (ADB), she said and added that the restoration policy for the Turag will be finalised by June 3.

Rizwana Hasan said, "My first goal after taking office was to bring back fresh and clean water to Dhaka's rivers. Right now, there is no life in the Buriganga and Turag. Some aquatic lives remain in the Shitalakkhya, the condition of the Dhaleshwari is also poor."

She explained that cleaning up the rivers is not easy. "We can't succeed unless we stop pollution. But many people are used to polluting, and factories-which are major polluters-can't be shut down easily because of protests. Also, illegal occupation of riverbanks and canals is a big problem."

"We are getting support from the World Bank and ADB. We hope the next government will continue this important work," she added.

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