Call for drive to evict 2,268 river grabbers

The Bangladesh Inland water Authority (BIWTA) has failed to evict 2,268 influential river grabbers in Barishal district over time. In view of this, National River Conservation Commission (NRCC) chairman Dr Mujibur Rahman Howladar on Tuesday ordered the district administration to take immediate steps for evicting all river grabbers in the district. He was addressing a meeting at the conference room of the deputy commissioner's office in Barishal.

"After visiting the Kirtonkhola and Patuakhali rivers,  I found that dredged earth has been thrown to the river beds again to fill the river. This is totally against the law. I ordered the authorities concerned to stop this practice immediately and to deposit the dredged mud to the selected places on the shore," he said.

The NRCC chairman also said that the grabbers of rivers in Barishal district must remove illegal structures from Wednesday. "Eviction operations will not consider the socio-political influence, power, and strength of the grabbers. The administration will get help from all law enforcement agencies, even armed forces, if necessary, for this operation," he added.

Earlier, Bangladesh had more than 24,000 km of rivers, but they have shrunk to less than 4,000 km. "All of us should come forward to save our rivers. They   are the lifeline of our country," said the NRCC chairman. "We often found river beds recorded in the name of persons or organisations. It should be corrected within the next seven working days," Howladar added.

SM Ajair Rahman, the district in-charge of the NRCC and the deputy commissioner of Barishal district, said: “We have appealed to the authorities concerned for sanctioning  sufficient funds for the recovery and fixing of boundary pillars.” “After getting the funds, we can start a massive eviction operation,” he added.

Call for drive to evict 2,268 river grabbers

The Bangladesh Inland water Authority (BIWTA) has failed to evict 2,268 influential river grabbers in Barishal district over time. In view of this, National River Conservation Commission (NRCC) chairman Dr Mujibur Rahman Howladar on Tuesday ordered the district administration to take immediate steps for evicting all river grabbers in the district. He was addressing a meeting at the conference room of the deputy commissioners office in Barishal. After visiting the Kirtonkhola and Patuakhali rivers, I found that dredged earth has been thrown to the river beds again to fill the river. This is totally against the law. I ordered the authorities concerned to stop this practice immediately and to deposit the dredged mud to the selected places on the shore, he said. The NRCC chairman also said that the grabbers of rivers in Barishal district must remove illegal structures from Wednesday. Eviction operations will not consider the socio-political influence, power, and strength of the grabbers. The administration will get help from all law enforcement agencies, even armed forces, if necessary, for this operation, he added. Earlier, Bangladesh had more than 24,000 km of rivers, but they have shrunk to less than 4,000 km. All of us should come forward to save our rivers. They are the lifeline of our country, said the NRCC chairman. We often found river beds recorded in the name of persons or organisations. It should be corrected within the next seven working days, Howladar added. SM Ajair Rahman, the district in-charge of the NRCC and the deputy commissioner of Barishal district, said: We have appealed to the authorities concerned for sanctioning sufficient funds for the recovery and fixing of boundary pillars. After getting the funds, we can start a massive eviction operation, he added.