Symposium on ways to beat air pollution held at IUB

An international symposium titled ‘Beat Air Pollution’ has been held at the Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) in Dhaka.

The School of Environmental Science and Management or SESM of the university organised the symposium on its Bashundhara campus on Tuesday.

Deputy Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Habibun Nahar attended the inaugural ceremony of the symposium as the chief guest.

Additional Secretary of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Dr Nurul Quadir was present as the special guest.

Dr Arifur Rahman Khan, Research Assistant Professor, University of Texas El Paso, US, was the keynote speaker and made his presentation on ‘Earth Environment Monitoring by a Conceptual 3U Small Satellite Mission: IRISSPO’.

A Matin Chowdhury, Chairman, Board of Trustees, IUB, and Khandker Md Iftekhar Haider, Treasurer and Vice Chancellor (In-charge) were also present and spoke on the occasion.

Habibun Nahar stated that Bangladesh, one of the most densely-populated countries in the world, has been struggling with air pollution for long.

And the irony is, we ourselves are destroying our own environment, she underscored.

The government has taken various steps to reduce emission of carbon from industries and many other activities to protect the environment, according to her.

She emphasised creating mass awareness for beating air pollution as this cannot be the task for the government merely; it is the responsibility of every individual for his or her own survival.

At the outset, Md Abdul Khaleque, Dean, SESM, IUB made the welcome address while Dr Ayaz Rabbani, Head, Department of Environmental Science, IUB delivered the vote of thanks.

Later, the Chief Guest inaugurated a poster exhibition with other guests and visited all works done by the IUB students.

The poster presentation consists of a visual display on different environmental related issues.

A total of 500 students participated in the competition and 100 posters were exhibited.

Students took part in the event through two different categories – Foundation and Major.

There were three winners form each category - Champion, 1st and 2nd runners-up, who received medals and certificates of recognition.

Members from the faculty and administration, students and distinguished guests were present in the symposium.