Prothom Alo
From childhood we were taught that Bangladesh is a riverine country. And all sorts of vessels are used as river transport, the most common of which is the simple country boat. So when there are rivers and there are boats, how can we not have a boat club! Even the capital city Dhaka is surrounded by rivers — Buriganga, Shitalakshya, Turag and Balu. Yet this city had no boat club. At least the people didn’t know of any such club until last week.
Those who took it upon themselves to fulfill this lacking and establish the Boat Club, should be given a national award. Actually Chattogram is the pioneer in this regard. The first boat club was set up in the commercial capital around three decades ago and is located near the sea port. The airport is next to it too. So while actually Chattogram deserves the national award for founding a boat club, the capital city has special importance. So a boat club here certainly deserves recognition. Even though the club is for their luxury yachts or sailboats, it gives hope that this might give rise to initiatives to save Dhaka’s dying rivers.
Then again, it is not quite clear how the founders of the boat club have anything at all to do with boats. Two types of people are directly involved in boats, the owner and the boatman. They may be boat owners, but it is not known what sort of boats. It is not known if they include any launch owners or cargo vessels. Political opponents may point to the power of the boat symbol in the political arena and the loyalty that it generates is more important than any other kind of boat.
The Dhaka Boat Club is a recreational one and so it is only natural that the members will own luxury cruise vessels. And it is not necessary that the yachts have to be in Dhaka. There is no harm if these are in Dubai or Singapore. And there are businessmen, members of the Boat Club, who can quite easily spend time vacationing in their yachts in any lake, river or sea anywhere in the world. After all, Bangladesh hardly has the environment for cruising in a luxury yacht.
It was said, “This club was set up on encroached land by the river Turag. The police IG is its president.”…The concerned minister offered no explanation as to whether the public servants code of conduct permits any public official to hold such a post in such clubs.
Had the boat club belonged to boatmen, perhaps it would not have come into limelight. When boatmen find a ghat (pier or jetty), they halt their boat for some rest and a meal. But then don’t simply come to the same jetty time and again, after all, they have to move on to earn their living.
Critics may not be envious, but they have remarked that the founders of the Boat Club have encroached upon the river Turag and built up a permanent structure there. The institution called the River Conservation Commission is endeavouring to free the river from the encroachers. The law enforcement agencies are needed for legal procedures in these efforts otherwise the encroachers will simply annihilate the river retrievers. Surely nothing more is needed to be said about how any efforts to retrieve the encroached land of the Boat Club will conclude.
The Dhaka Boat Club came into the news over allegations of a serious crime regarding the bar in the club. There is no inquiry into whether the bar has a licence and other details about its stock of liquor. The cameras following the investigators are instead going to addresses in Uttara, Gulshan and Banani.
There was quite a storm of discussion and debate in the parliament for two consecutive days over the issue. It was said, “This club was set up on encroached land by the river Turag. The police IG is its president.” No one from the Treasury Bench in parliament cared to take up details of this statement. The concerned minister offered no explanation as to whether the public servants code of conduct permits any public official to hold such a post in such clubs.
Country boats are the most common in Bangladesh. Some have shades and some are open. There were all sorts of boats — ‘panshi’, dinghies, sampans and so on. Unfortunately, with the ‘development’ wave all over, these boats now have engines attached to them and are motorised. Many now might be inspired to established a Dinghy Club, a ‘Panshi’ Club, or some such new club, inspired by the success of the Dhaka Boat Club.
* Kamal Ahmed is a senior journalist.
* This column appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Ayesha Kabir
