Dhaka, Sept. 17 -- Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has directed agencies to launch a coordinated drive to tackle pollution in the lakes of Gulshan, Banani, Niketan, Baridhara, and Dhanmondi.

At a Thursday meeting at the Secretariat, the prime minister asked authorities to stop sewage flowing into the lakes, improve waste removal, install Sewage Treatment Plants, and scale up operations of the agencies involved, according to Deputy Press Secretary Md Suzauddhowla.

The meeting reviewed pollution and renovation plans for the Gulshan, Banani, Baridhara, Niketan and Dhanmondi lakes, with officials identifying sewage discharge as a major source of contamination.

Authorities were told to block sewage entry points, require building-level treatme...