Bangladesh is to receive support from Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Japan to tackle the huge challenges posed by climate change over the coming decades.

Bangladesh, India and Nepal have agreed on construction of a special reservoir for year-round river flow, the water resources minister said yesterday.

"The reservoir, to be built in Nepal, would bring life to the rivers of Bangladesh and India in the dry season," Ramesh Chandra Sen told German radio channel Deutsche Welle in an interview.

About 500,000 people move to Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh each year, mostly from coastal, riverine and rural areas.

The first and foremost challenge in South Asia is the vulnerability to water related disasters. This cause huge loss of life and property estimated loss range from 2-20% and revenue loss between 12-66% and it hinders sustainable development for poverty reduction by eroding hard earned gains of development.

The government has successfully concluded negotiations with the World Bank for a US$62.20 million Clean Air and Sustainable Environment (CASE) project aimed at helping the capital out of environmental hell.

An official release says CASE is an innovatively designed project that aims at integrating environment and transport concerns towards a common objective of improving Dhaka's air quality.

Bangladesh urgently needs support in developing a climate-resilient agriculture if its people are to survive and prosper in the long term, according to some experts.

Climate change is affecting the country in many ways. For instance, rising sea levels are causing some agricultural land in coastal areas to become more saline, reducing both the quality and quantity of the produce available.

India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan have planned a total of 552 hydropower projects in Himalayan region, of which some have already been built and some are under construction, that may have far-reaching impacts on downstream Bangladesh, informed sources said.

The launching ceremony of the 'Climate Change Study Cell (CCSC)' of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology will be held at its Council Bhaban on Sunday.

Food and Disaster Management Minister Dr Muhammad Abdur Razzaque will attend as chief guest, said a BUET press release.

Restoration of lost water bodies that once served as natural sanctuaries for fish has become indispensable to protect indigenous fishes and maintain ecological balance and biodiversity.

The Government cannot extract coal from Barapukuria coalmine project during the last seven days due to resistance of villagers' as they didn't get compensation of their land yet.

The Energy Ministry yesterday held an urgent meeting to review the situation of Barapukuria project.