Fresh drive starts to free Shitalakhya

BIWTA and Narayanganj district administration in a joint drive remove an illegal structure on the side of the river Shitalakhya near Kanchpur Bridge yesterday. Photo: StarStaff Correspondent

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) and Narayanganj district administration jointly knocked down a number of makeshift structures on both sides of the river Shitalakhya near Kanchpur Bridge yesterday.

They also put the sand removal work up for auction as part of the ongoing drive to free Shitalakhya from encroachment through sand filling.

BIWTA Deputy Director Alamgir Kabir said, “We have dismantled around 20 bamboo-made structures erected on the river banks.”

Sand traders Nazrul Islam and Shajalal won the bidding for one lakh taka to remove the sand from Shimrail area located to the north of the Kanchpur Bridge.

Our Narayanganj correspondent adds: SR Enterprise has placed the highest bid for removal of the sand from Ati area located to the south of the bridge. He offered Tk 30, 000. The contractor has to complete sand removal within 15 days.

A BIWTA assistant engineer will be engaged to supervise the sand removal work.

Under the auction deal, the bidders will remove the sand piled up on the riverside narrowing down the width of the river. The bidders will take the sand away.

Narayanganj Executive Magistrate Shamsuzzoha led the four-member auction committee and eviction drive.

The authorities, during an eviction drive on October 20, removed around thirty makeshift structures from the west bank of Shitalakhya and ordered unauthorised sand traders to remove earth within two days. They did not pay any heed.

The authorities also demarcated the river areas with concrete pillars where erecting any kind of structures are illegal.

The authorities have identified around 60 unauthorised sand traders who have long been doing illegal business destroying the river and its foreshore.

Narayanganj district administration filed a case against 53 encroachers around three months back.

BIWTA on July 9 began an eviction drive at the foot of Kanchpur Bridge following massive media reports on encroachment and unauthorised sand trading on the flood plains of the river.

Soon after the media report BIWTA entered into a 30-day contract with Maria Traders, a sand extraction company, for sand removal but the contractor retreated from the job within a week.