Rejoinder, our reply

The company secretary of Khan Brothers Slipways and Engineering Works in a rejoinder claimed that three news reports on the grabbing of Meghna river carried by this paper between May 19 and May 21 were “false, fabricated and malafide”.

The reports referred to are headlined as “Freeing the Meghna from grabbers: act or get sued”, “Evicting Meghna grabbers: BIWTA drive stops halfway”, and “Meghna grabber defies govt order”.  

“We started ship building dockyard after obtaining all necessary and essential approvals and licence from the concerned authorities,” read the rejoinder.

The authorities concerned are “satisfied” with the company’s activities for industrialisation.   

OUR REPLY

The rejoinder sweepingly terms our three reports “false, fabricated and malafide” without any justification or proof of exactly how or which parts of the reports were false.      

The company did not provide any documents that go against the content of the reports and substantiate the rejoinder.   

On receipt of the rejoinder, the company’s Managing Director Tofayel Kabir Khan was contacted over phone.

Contrary to what the rejoinder claimed, the MD said that they, as of May 29, had not obtained the final contract of licence from the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) to occupy Meghna foreshore and build the dockyard and slipways.  

It only proves the veracity of our reports that they had completed building two dockyard slipways occupying Meghna foreshore before they obtained final licence. This prompted this paper to run the report headlined “Meghna grabber defies govt order”, one of the three mentioned in the rejoinder. 

The final licence contract, obtainable after paying the government revenue, entitles one to occupy and use a river foreshore in compliance with the terms and conditions outlined in the licence with a view to protect the river.         

Even though MD Tofayel had made commitments that he would provide this paper with copies of other supplementary approvals the company claims to have, he did not do so until yesterday.  

The two other reports headlined “Freeing the Meghna from grabbers: act or get sued”, and “Meghna grabbers: BIWTA drive stops halfway” are based on documents, official versions, findings, and an eviction drive carried out by the BIWTA.  

We stand by our reports.