'Set up water resource management authority'

They also called for proper enforcement of Wetland Protection Act to protect the water bodies and increased use of surface water.

Rivers are losing their navigability and encroachers are active to grab riverbeds, they said and demanded re-excavation of rivers and stern action against the land grabbers.

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A one-stop water management is a must to protect the rivers, the diploma engineers said at a press conference.

The Institute of Diploma Engineers of Bangladesh (IDEB) organised the press conference to mark the 33rd founding anniversary of the institute.

The founding day which falls on November 8 will be observed as 'People's Engineering Day', said AKMA Hamid, general secretary of IDEB.

Dwelling on agriculture, Hamid said that the economy is still dependent on agriculture, but no step has been taken to introduce modern technology in this sector.

IDEB President Rafiqul Islam Bhuiyan and Vice-President Mirza Nazrul Islam were also present.

To mark the founding day, the IDEB, which has about 85,000 members, has taken elaborate programmes, including a colourful procession, discussion and reunion.