Rivers unprotected as ever

To all appearances, the rivers and other water bodies surrounding the capital city see doomed, as the law prohibiting their illegal occupation has never been respected. Even a government agency like the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) itself has been found to violate court order by erecting business establishments in the filled parts of Buriganga river at Sadarghat in the city. It has even built a jetty by filling up Shitalakhya River at Kanchpur in violation of High Court Order of June 25, 2009 to demolish all such structures. Do these instances not open the door for the vested quarters to go ahead with illegal grabbing with impunity? And what worries us further is that even if in certain cases where the Wetland and Open Spaces Conservation Act, 2000, has been enforced to bring the violators to justice, they evaded punishment through legal loopholes. That leaves one wondering, if the violators of the river protection law are more powerful than the government and the court?
There is no instance so far of any one breaking the provisions of the Wetland and Open Space Conservation Act 2000, which saw an amendment in 2009, getting duly punished. In one recent case, a river grabber at Kamrangirchar of the city was detained. But that could hardly discourage others committing the same offence. Ironically, recently the DoE stopped a member of the River Saving Task Force', also a lawmaker, from filling up a canal without due permission. Stranger still, the lawmaker later again sought DoE's permission to continue the illegal work.
Against this disappointing background, the rivers and other water bodies, wetlands and open spaces will continue to be an easy prey to the illegal occupiers. The government, if it is serious about protecting those should put its foot down on the errant. In a similar vein, the media, the pro-environment groups, the civil society and all others concerned must carry out a stronger and more forceful campaign to save our rivers, various water bodies and wetlands from the unrelenting violators of the law.