Govt firm to free rivers from encroachment
Taskforce meeting held
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, Dhaka
The government has been relentlessly working to free rivers from encroachment after ensuring their navigability by dredging them round the year. But all the efforts will be futile if the countrys rivers and other waterbodies could not be protected.
State minister for shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury said this yesterday while talking to reporters after a meeting of the taskforce that was formed to monitor the navigability of rivers. The meeting took place at the Secretariat yesterday, with Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury in the chair.
Even though the ministers for law, housing and public works, land, environment and forest, water resources, and LGRD are members of the taskforce, none of them attended the meeting. However, representatives of several ministries and departments, including shipping secretary Abdus Samad, were present.
Were working to reclaim the encroached land. Although its a tough job, our different departments, including the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), have been conducting eviction drives to remove illegal structures from riverbanks, Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury said.
He also said the BIWTA has removed a total of 18,025 illegal structures from riverbanks between 2010 and 2019 and reclaimed 738 acres of riverbanks from encroachments in Dhaka and Narayanganj river port areas.
The BIWTA also fined Tk. 68.58 lakh and realised Tk. 14 crore by auctioning off the materials confiscated during the eviction drives.
The BIWTA has removed 720 illegal structures between December 18 and 22 this year. It also reclaimed 16 acres of riverbanks during drives within this period and realised Tk. 2.38 crore through auction, Chowdhury said.
He further said a total of 207 demarcation pillars of the river had been installed so far, out of a total of 3,803 under Dhaka river port areas. Construction of 2,006 demarcation pillars will begin under Tongi river port areas within a week, he said, adding that a tender had been invited for the construction of 2,500 demarcation pillars under the Narayanganj river port.
Besides, a tender was also invited for the construction of six heavy jetties under Dhaka and Tongi river ports, said Chowdhury.
Well form an inspection committee on canals that flow into Dhaka city.
The committees main objective is to reclaim city canals and remove waste to free the canals from encroachment, he added. He also directed the National River Protection Commission to take necessary steps to strengthen the monitoring system regarding activities of district and upazila committees that were formed to prevent river encroachment and pollution in their respective districts and upazilas.
The directive was given to the departments concerned for taking steps so that industrial wastes do not pollute river waters, he added. He sought cooperation from everyone to stop the encroachment of rivers for building a beautiful and pollution-free Bangladesh.
