Minister stresses reviving natural fountains for CHT water security.
Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Affairs Minister Sa Ching Prue has stressed the need to revive natural fountains to address the shortage of safe water in the hilly areas and ensure sustainable water sources for hill people.
He made the remarks during a courtesy meeting with a delegation of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) at his office at secretariat yesterday, a press release today said.
Describing access to safe and reliable drinking water in the CHT as one of the key development priorities, the minister said, “We need to learn from the solutions demonstrated by ICIMOD and explore how successful approaches can be scaled up across the entire hill region.”
Welcoming ICIMOD's initiatives under its HI-CAS project to address local water shortage and revive fountain sources, he assured the delegation of ministry's full cooperation in successfully implementing the project.
The way of strengthening mutual cooperation in climate adaptation, water security and sustainable development in the CHT was discussed in details in the meeting.
Emphasis was also placed on stronger coordination among the relevant ministries, ICIMOD, local institutions and development partners to ensure investment in climate adaptation that reflects the needs and realities of hill communities.
Members of the ICIMOD delegation included the organisation's Bangladesh Country Focal Mahmood Al Haque Patowary, HI-CAS Senior Project Coordinator Jessica Emily Fullwood and Country Project Officer Toufiqul Islam. Additional Secretary of the CHT Ministry Monirul Islam was present at the meeting.
