Saving our rivers from grabbers

It is encouraging that the state minister for shipping has taken a strong position with regard to protecting our rivers from encroachment and pollution. He recently said that there will be no compromise in reclaiming our rivers, including the four rivers around Dhaka. The government has taken 49 projects at a cost of Tk 4,713.31 crore to free the rivers from encroachment and pollution as well as to restore their navigability. And reportedly, the BIWTA has already started implementing a Tk 848 crore project to construct infrastructure, including walkways, jetties and boundary pillars on the reclaimed river land.

However, while these projects are being implemented, several news reports and photos published in this daily recently suggest that the situation of the four rivers surrounding Dhaka has not actually improved much. We could see from a photo published on October 7 how the walkways built beside the Turag river in Abdullahpur were occupied by vendors while another photo published in this paper on September 16 showed how indiscriminate dumping of all types of waste, including plastic materials and polythene, in a landfill in Aminbazar on the outskirts of Dhaka, has been polluting the nearby two rivers—Buriganga and Turag. Such is the case of all the four rivers surrounding Dhaka. And other big rivers across the country also suffer a similar fate. 

If the government is really sincere about protecting our rivers, the17-point directives given by the High Court earlier this year, including stopping the river grabbers from participating in elections, not giving them bank loans, making a list of river grabbers and publicising their names in the media, etc., should be strictly implemented. Also, the National River Conservation Commission, being the legal guardian of our rivers, should be given more power to perform their job. In addition, the government must ensure that the large amount of money allocated for the 49 projects is spent in a transparent manner. The government has made enough promises, now it's time for them to deliver on them.