Untreated chemical effluents continue to be directly channelled into rivers causing severe water pollution when World River Day is going to be observed today. The photo was taken at the River Sitalakhya in Narayanganj on Saturday. — Sony Ramany
Most of the government directives and a High Court order to save the country’s important rivers from encroachments and pollutions go largely unheeded when the country is going to observe World Rivers Day today.
For this, green activists blame ineffectiveness of the National Taskforce to Protect Rivers and the National River Protection Commission, formed to protect the rivers and facilitate the implementation of government directives on rivers.
The government in 2009 formed a high-powered taskforce, headed by shipping minister Shajahan Khan, to save the Dhaka’s rivers — Buriganga, Turag, Sitalakkhya and Balu.
The jurisdiction of the taskforce was later extended brining other important rivers across the country under its supervision in the wake of widespread pollutions of and encroachments on the rivers.
The taskforce was formed following a High Court order in the same year which directed the government to stop encroachment, earth-filling, and construction of illegal structures on Dhaka’s rivers and to evict the already built illegal structures.
Some major decisions including no further encroachment on and pollution of the rivers including Old Buriganga Channel, Dhaleswari, Karnaphuli and Baral, excavating the river Ichhamati, collection of river maps, setting boundary pillars at right places and eviction of riverside illegal structures were taken in the taskforce’s 35 meetings and they are yet to be implemented.
Bangladesh Paribesh Andolan general secretary Mohammad Abdul Matin termed the government reluctant to implement the directives.
Matin, also a taskforce member, observed that in absence of effective river commission, unscrupulous sections were still active in grabbing river banks.
Referring to the High Court order as the sole legal guideline to recover encroached river banks and maintain natural flow of rivers, he also blamed Bangladesh Water Development Board and Local Government Engineering Department for destroying natural flows of rivers by implementing faulty development activities like constructing dams and roads.
BAPA joint secretary Sharif Jamil said the river protection taskforce was yet to implement its decisions including removing at least 13 ‘identified’ illegal structures on the banks of four Dhaka rivers.
Improper demarcation of the rivers, faulty construction of walkways along the Turag and the Shitalakkya ignoring margins of the riverbed, foreshore and riverbank were other examples of the river protection taskforce’s failure, he said.
Earth filling for several development projects including Sikder Medical College and Hospital compound at Hazaribagh and plot business at Basila beel totally dried up two Buriganga channels connecting the Turag and the Dhaleshwari.
They urged the government to take necessary steps including formulating river policy to check the encroachment.
Buriganga Bachao Andolan member secretary Mihir Biswas complained that the river taskforce failed to remove around 600 establishments occupying over 100 acre of land inside the Buriganga river boundary.
Despite relocation of Hazaribagh tanneries, pollution of the river Buriganga still went on due to oil spillage through vessels, liquid sewage and solid waste dumping respectively by the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority and Dhaka South City Corporation, he added.
Turag Rakhsha Committee president Mohammad Ali also alleged that the government failed to remove at least 300 establishments occupying four to five bighas inside the Turag boundaries.
He said a BWDB-operated sluice gate at Mirpur Beribadh beside Eastern Housing society was polluting water of the River Turag by dumping liquid waste daily.
In the 34th meeting of the taskforce, the river commission was asked to provide river designs to the district administrators and assist activities to set up boundary pillars at right places.
The commission is yet to provide river designs to the district administrators concerned as the service tenure of the then NRPC chairman Ataharul Islam and permanent member Md Alauddin ended on August 4, said officials.
The posts are still vacant.
Shipping ministry’s acting secretary Md Abdus Samad admitted that there were many encroachers who occupied recovered river lands.
‘It is not possible to appoint members of law enforcement agencies at all points,’ he said and added that the work was very challenging in Dhaka city due to its huge population.
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority and the river commission were working together to protect the rivers from encroachment and pollution, he added.
Prime minister Sheikh Hasina in May 2014 ordered the ministries concerned to retrieve all the rivers flowing along Dhaka city from land grabbers, irrespective of their identities, in the wake of the authorities and the taskforce failing to evict them.
Source: New Age