River grabber gets nod for construction
The national taskforce on rivers yesterday decided to lift a ban on a high-rise building being constructed partially grabbing the Sonai River and blocking its flow at Madhabpur upazila in Habiganj.
The decision, which came at the 28th meeting of the taskforce yesterday with Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan in the chair, contradicts the government's commitment to river protection. The Awami League-led government has formulated a number of laws, including the Water Act 2013, to protect river flows.
The Saiham Group owns the under-construction 10-storey building meant to accommodate 124 residential flats, 802 commercial shops and 13 units for offices.
The company is owned by three siblings and eldest of them is Syed Md Qaisar, a convicted war criminal. Charges against him include killing four people during the Liberation War and dumping the bodies in the very Sonai River.
In 2013, the shipping ministry instructed the Biswas Builders, a real estate company which is constructing the Saiham Future Complex, to suspend the work as Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon (Bapa) brought the allegation of blocking the river flow.
A shipping ministry press release yesterday said the under-construction building is 60 feet away from the river and so the taskforce meeting saw no problem in approving the work.
Sharif Jamil, who represented Bapa at the meeting, said the ban was lifted following a report prepared by a committee of the National River Conservation Commission (NRCC) after a site visit in the dry season.
The executive director of Biswas Builders was also invited to the taskforce meeting and asked to provide justification for the construction of Saiham Future Complex. The representative claimed the under-construction building is 60 feet from the river.
“Basically, the chair of the taskforce took into consideration the claim of the construction company and ignored our objections,” said Sharif Jamil, joint secretary of Bapa.
Law Minister Anisul Huq and Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque, among others, were present at the meeting.
The meeting also directed the river commission committee to visit the construction site again and make sure that the builder company plant trees along the river.
Contacted, Syed Md Shajahan, chairman of Madhabpur upazila and one of the directors of Saiham Group, said government probe bodies of different levels and the committee of the river commission visited the site but found nothing objectionable.
“The distance of our construction site from the river is more than what is required by law [50 feet],” he said.
Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan could not be reached over mobile phone despite several attempts.
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