Top intervention needed to deal with river grabbers
River grabbing had always been a social scourge in Bangladesh and irrespective of the government in power; this culture has only expanded much to the detriment of nature and ecology. In the common system, influential locals with political connections defy the rules and occupy rivers while district administrations are forced to look the other way or adopt a conciliatory attitude towards the grabbers.
A recent seminar revealed that more than two thousand river grabbers have still not been evicted in Barishal, and such a problem may be seen in small or large-scale in almost all districts. Forceful occupation of rivers, hills, low lands and other areas is a common problem and ninety nine per cent of the people who are behind such abominable practices use their political colours to legitimize their actions.
Earlier, Bangladesh had more than 24,000 km of rivers, but they have shrunk to less than 4,000 km. This is indeed shocking and unless some form of actions are taken, grabbing of rivers, lands, forests will continue.
Obviously, the first directive has to come from the top leadership of the country and that command has to clearly give out a date within which illegal occupiers should hand over land or water bodies which they controlled without legal permit. In sending out the warning, it must be mentioned unequivocally that political allegiance will not be taken into account in freeing occupied areas. Too many times, political connections plus lobbying have led to the creation of an air of impunity.
Secondly, the district administrations also need to work on the top directive to send out a clear message that after a certain period, the action will be stringent. The media has to be roped in, otherwise, the true picture of the eviction drive will not reach the masses. Also, media involvement is essential to prevent any collusive deals between district level officials and occupiers.
Thirdly, the drive should not be for a short time but spanning at least two years so the occupiers cannot come back and take over control.
There have been evictions in the past though the result did not last long. While the district administration carries out their drives, a rural awareness campaign is needed where the young and the educated can be involved to become vocal against illegal occupation plus other social maladies. The main impediment to the success of such drives is the political link and once society decides to act against such shields with the top authority taking a stern position, the culture of grabbing can be extirpated.
