Australian High Commissioner Lorraine Barker opened the resource centre set up with the assistance from the government of Australia.

The centre would provide every organisation working for mitigation of arsenic contamination with necessary information.

The resource centre is part of the Bangladesh-Australia Centre for Arsenic Mitigation Project (BACAMP). The DCH, government of Australia, AusAID, and GHD Pty. Ltd. are working together on this project.

Dr Quazi Quamruzzaman, chairman of DCH, said arsenic contamination is creating various social and economic problems. "We have to provide people with alternative source of pure drinking water to prevent arsenic contamination of ground water."

Syeedur Rahman, joint secretary of Local Government Division, Peter Robson, project director, Dr Alison Baker, project manager and Janet Donnelly of AusAID also spoke.