Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan on Thursday said discussions have been held with international organisations on an integrated plan involving around Tk 25,000 crore to ensure safe drinking water for Bangladesh’s 180 million people.

The minister made the remarks while talking to reporters after a meeting with a UNICEF delegation at the Secretariat.

“We talked to UNICEF about a particularly important issue — how we can provide safe water to the 180 million people of Bangladesh,” he said.

He said water is essential for human life, but contaminated and germ-filled water can also become a cause of death. “So, ensuring safe water for 180 million people in Bangladesh is a challenge, and that challenge was discussed at the meeting,” he said.

The minister said Bangladesh has abundant water in its rivers, but many rivers are drying up due to water withdrawal upstream.

“As a result, one impact is desertification in the northern districts, while there is another impact in the southern region,” he said.

He said water from Bangladesh’s rivers flows into the Bay of Bengal, and reduced freshwater flows cause seawater salinity to move further inland.

“This has created a huge drinking water problem in the southern region over the past several decades due to upstream water withdrawal,” Moyeen Khan said.

He said people living in the southern region could explain how severe the shortage of potable water has become there.

“Considering all these issues, it is our responsibility to provide safe drinking water to the people,” he said.

The minister said the meeting also focused on how Bangladesh could work with the United Nations for people’s welfare and how such efforts could be financed.

Representatives of the World Bank and WaterAid, along with the UNICEF representative in Bangladesh, were also present at the meeting, he said.