Form nat'l commission to protect rivers

The High Court (HC) has directed the government to constitute a 'National River Protection Commission' consisting of the experts concerned within three months to properly preserve and develop the rivers of the country.

The court urged the government to have short-term and long-term plans as per the recommendations of the Commission for the development of all the rivers.

The HC also called for taking immediate steps to dredge the rivers Buriganga, Turag, Balu and Shitalakhya around the capital and remove the dirty materials deposited in the riverbeds within the next two years to improve navigations in these rivers within the next five years.

The court also ordered for dredging Jamuna-Dhaleshwari, Dhaleshwari-Buriganga, Old Brahmmaputra-Bangshi, Bangshi-Turag, Jamuna-Punglikhal, Turag and Tongi canals within five years.

It also ordered for removal of all structures from the government lands on the banks of the rivers around the city and its Bakland dam.

The full text of the verdict, pronounced on June 25 containing the directives, was published on July 15.

The HC bench of Justice ABM Khairul Haque and Justice Mohammad Momtazuddin Ahmed delivered the verdict directing the authorities concerned to send a copy of the judgment to the prime minister for consideration.

As per the directives, the exact boundaries of the rivers around Dhaka city will be determined through surveys by November 30 this year and the rivers will be designated as 'Ecologically Critical Areas' during this period to facilitate the demarcation work.

Once the demarcation is complete, the authorities concerned must have the riverbanks lined with pillars, tree plantation, walkways and pavements by November 30, 2010.

The verdict also observed that the future of Sujala-Sufola Shasya-Shyamola Bangladesh depends on the navigation of her rivers, otherwise, all development plans will go in vain.

Advocate Syeda Rizwana Hasan, chief of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association, yesterday told The Daily Star that the HC in its verdict has categorically outlined the ways for saving the rivers of the country from pollution and illegal encroachments.

Now the main challenge is to implement the directives, she said, adding, the government will have to do this job along with the local people and the civil society.