Continuous pressure must to stop river grabbing
The administration, whose apathy allows land grabbers to encroach on rivers, must be continuously pressurised to bring a change in the attitude, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, chief executive, Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (Bela), told a discussion yesterday.
“National River Protection Commission has been formed and the government in some cases has taken some decisions to evict grabbers.
“But what have we seen...inaccurate installation of demarcation pillars in the Turag river. Due to our continuous movement and monitoring, the administration moved the pillars in stages leading to the increase in the river's breadth,” she said.
If the administration is really willing to stop grabbing of rivers, then people will not have to raise movements every now and then, added Rizwana.
The discussion, “River Management, Expectation, Fulfilment and Challenges”, was organised by Save the River Movement Bangladesh in a Mohakhali building in the capital marking its ninth anniversary. The movement President Prof Anwar Sadat presided over the discussion.
Rizwana observed that the fate of rivers was interconnected with a good number of people, who, if they joined hands, could make the movement more effective.
She advised the movement's members not to use the issue to fulfil personal agendas and work selflessly to make their endeavours reach success.
Institute of Water and Environment Chairman M Inamul Haque said India and China's claim of running run-of the river hydroelectricity generation facilities, characterised by the absence of water reservoirs, upstream of the Teesta river was an eyewash leading to the river's death.
“Run-of the river is possible only in the rainy season when water is abundant. In the dry season, the downstream flow reduces substantially...therefore there is no reason to believe that India and China will generate electricity only in the rainy season and remain inactive the rest of the year,” he said.
He urged the government to demand compensation from India for the damage caused by the latter's dams upstream.
The movement announced a 17-point demand, including setting up of effluent treatment plants in industrial areas, forming a committee of surveyors to inspect river demarcation every three months, and taking effective steps against grabbers.
Comments