The cabinet yesterday approved a proposal to stop the production of "Ketoprofen" drug in the country in an effort to save the critically endangered vultures.

The approval came from the weekly cabinet meeting, held at the Secretariat. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina chaired the meeting, joining it virtually from the Gono Bhaban.

"There were some 50,000 vultures in Bangladesh in the 1970s, but its population has declined alarmingly. Now there are only 260 vultures in the country, according to the count of the environment ministry," Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam said while briefing reporters after the meeting.

The ministry placed the proposal saying that if the supply of "Ketoprofen" cannot be stopped, the vultures in Bangladesh will keep dying , Anwarul added.

In the proposal, it suggested "Meloxicam" as an alternative to "Ketoprofen" drug since Meloxicam is available in the market and its side-effect is very light, he said.

Nature conservationists have long been demanding a ban on the vulture-toxic drug, "Ketoprofen", for saving the vulture population.

Bangladesh earlier banned "Diclofenac", the most harmful drug for the vulture population.

Vultures play a critical role in maintaining a balanced ecosystem by controlling the spread of diseases to human.

Unfortunately, over 99.9 percent of the vultures of South Asia have disappeared over the past couple of decades.