Sector specialists and practitioners discussed on the institutional arrangements, gaps and selection of strategic locations for Fecal Sludge Treatment Plants for successful implementation of FSM Action Plan for Rangpur City Corporation (RpCC) by 2030. The consultation meeting was held on 23rd November, 2020 with participants from Rangpur city corporation, WUSP and ITN-BUET under a study to develop an FSM Action Plan for RpCC. The need of financial gap analysis for successful FSM implementation was also highlighted in the meeting.
Dr. Muhammad Ashraf Ali, study lead started the meeting with a brief discussion on the objectives and possible outcomes of the action plan. He also asked the Rangpur city corporation representatives for feedback and their expectations about the action plan.
Sanitation expert and a core member of the study team, Dr. Md. Mujibur Rahman pointed out few key issues for discussion which includes institutional requirements for safely managed sanitation, existing financial resources and additional resource requirements. He enquired about existing containment system scenario, awareness among the users and finally the capacity of RpCC for proper management and monitoring of FSTPs.
In response to these issues, Md. Amdad Hossain, Superintending Engineer of RpCC explained the overall situation of FSM in the city and addressed their limitations for ensuring FSM coverage for a large group of people. He also informed that they have taken a number of initiatives for improving FSM situation in the city. He shared their expectation from ITN-BUET for properly implementing sustainable FSM.
Md. Ruhul Amin Mian, CEO, Rangpur City Corporation showed interest for this Action Plan and sincerely thanked ITN-BUET and WUSP team for their effort and continuous support and invited them to RpCC for further discussion on the Action Plan. He hoped that the FSM Action Plan will help the city to achieve it’s SDG Target 6.2 by 2030.
