They said a master plan along with mass participation is necessary to save the haor people as well as the biodiversity and aquaculture of the country.

The national dialogue on 'Agriculture and natural resource of haor areas and what policy should be taken' was organised by Nagorik Sanghati at the National Press Club in the city.

The participants said people living in wetlands of some 48 upazilas of seven north-eastern districts have been leading a miserable life for years amid food insecurity, unemployment and natural disaster, but no government since the country's independence took any effective steps to upgrade their life.

They demanded reforms in the existing leasing system of haor since it only benefits local influential figures instead of common people and fishermen.

Engineer M Inamul Haque, former director general of Bangladesh Haor and Wetland Development Board, said normally early flood hits the haor areas in the middle of April.

"Huge amount of crops in haor area will be damaged if early flood occurs. The caretaker government should take effective steps to protect the crops from the flood," he said.

He emphasised a combined policy to ensure proper utilisation of the potentials of these areas for national development.

Researcher Pavel Partha in his keynote paper said people living in haor areas are leading a miserable life as most of them are struggling against hunger, poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition, unemployment and flood.

IT expert Mostafa Jabbar said haor area is a huge resource of sweet water fishes and a suitable plan can provide the country with a lot of foreign currencies.

Anisur Rahman, an expert on Haor, said the poor fishermen of haor areas are deprived of the rights to haor assets due to existing leasing system which benefits only the well-to-do and influential quarters.

Engineer Kazi Shish, Barrister Sadia, Environmentalist Chhabi Biswas, Hamidul Islam Bir Bikram and Advocate SM Sabur also took part in the dialogue.