"We urge Indian citizens to ask their government to be rational towards neighbouring countries and give their due share of common resources, including sweetwater," he said while inaugurating the 11th biennial conference of the Forum of Environment Journalists Bangladesh (FEJB) here.

FEJB Chairman Quamrul Islam Chowdhury chaired the function held at the Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP).

Eminent water expert and country representative of International Union of Nature Conservation (IUCN) Dr Ainun Nishat and Prof Dr Mohammad Mujibur Rahman of the Civil Engineering Department of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) also spoke on the occasion.

Mannan Bhuiyan said Bangladesh has been facing serious ecological imbalance, environmental degradation and changes of climate because of the man-made strike on its river system.

Most of the main rivers are dying and others counting days to die since Bangladesh is not getting adequate flow of waters in lean periods, he said.

"Surface water is the lifeline for Bangladesh people," he said, adding that the country's climate is behaving abnormally due to long-term bad impacts of water scarcity in the main rivers and their tributaries.

The Indian citizens should look into the matters of their neighbours and play their role accordingly, Bhuiyan added.

Ainun Nishat said Bangladesh shares 54 rivers with India and the control of the water flow remains at the hand of the upstream India. "It is necessary to reach long-term agreements with India to get enough water flow from all the rivers, including the Ganges," he added.

Nishat said the impact of climate change could not be weighed overnight since it comes slowly. The impact has, however, become quite tangible in Bangladesh and it has been affecting agriculture and rural productivity.

Dr Rahman said the lavish lifestyle of the people of developed world has fuelled emission of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) and other gases, and the world temperature increased by nearly one degree Celsius in last 15 years.

"This is a serious threat to the developing world and island states," he said, adding that voices should be raised against the polluters of world environment.