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A green group has demanded that the government prepare a list of river polluters to bring them to book.
The government must take effective steps to save rivers from pollution and encroachment for the sake of the environment and livelihood, it suggests.
The Bangladesh Nodi Bachao Andolon [Save the River Movement Bangladesh] also called for the government to take immediate action against grabbers and polluters.
The green activists of the group have exhorted the public to join a massive river-saving bandwagon.
They made the observations and recommendations at a discussion styled 'River for Humans: We are to Save Rivers' at the National Press Club on Saturday.
The discussants say humans, animals and biodiversity on the banks of the Buriganga, Turag, Balu, Sitalakkhya and Karnaphuli have been in peril for pollution.
The people living in Dhaka, Narayanganj and Gazipur are being affected directly or indirectly due to the indiscriminate pollution of rivers.
The speakers accused most of the export-oriented factories of polluting rivers, tributaries and distributaries.
The Bangladesh-India Joint River Commission was formed in 1972 and it must be geared up to face the challenges of adverse impacts of global climate change.
The discussants also suggested incorporating Nepal and China as part of river diplomacy to face the challenges of adverse climate impacts.
They pleaded with the government to take initiatives immediately to remove harmful hard metal slabs developed up to 10-12 feet depth of the rivers.
Bangladesh Nodi Bachao Andolon president Md Anwar Sadat chaired the discussion where National River Conservation Commission (NRCC) chairman ASM Ali Kabir and Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) chairman.