, Dec. 21 -- Speakers at a human chain on Sunday demanded strict enforcement of existing laws to stop salt, shrimp and crab farming on agricultural land and called for alternative livelihoods and rehabilitation for affected farmers to ensure food security and sustainable livelihoods.

They said the practice of introducing saline water into cropland is destroying fertile agricultural land, reducing soil productivity, threatening biodiversity and creating long-term livelihood risks for agriculture-dependent communities. As a result, local food production is declining and salinity is making vast areas uncultivable for years, they added.

The demands were raised at a human chain held at Nawabenki Bazar in Shyamnagar upazila of Satkhira distri...