Demolish illegal establishments HC tells govt

The High Court yesterday directed the government to demolish illegal establishments constructed beside the dam on the Hurasagar-Ichhamati river at Bera upazila in Pabna.

During hearing a pending writ petition, the court also asked the government to submit a report on compliance with the order in six weeks and also fixed April 7 for next hearing, said Manzill Murshid, counsel for the petitioner, Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh.

Presence of some establishments, constructed on both sides of the dam, was mentioned in the memorandum of understanding, signed between Bera municipality and Water Development Board for "development work" on WDB land beside the river, said Manzill.

Following the petition, the HC on January 8, 2013 ordered the government to stop further earth filling and encroachment on the river at Bera and also issued a show cause notice to the government.

The petition was filed on January 7, 2013 following a report published in The Daily Star on December 21, 2012 with the headline "Wetland leased from WDB being filled up to set up market, park".

According to the report, the Bera municipality authorities were conducting development work on a vast tract of cultivable land beside the flood protection embankment.