Dhaka rivers face shrinkage
Dhaka's rivers are getting thinner ever since the gate-keepers of rivers are turning out to be poachers.
The latest move by the government itself is self-destructive. The rivers of Dhaka will shrink further as the district administrations are demarcating those excluding the foreshores. Authorities have pitched boundary pillars along the rivers allowing loss of hundreds of acres of land which are natural part of the rivers. Shitalakhya alone will lose 1860 acres of land. Without foreshores the rivers will turn into large-sized drains.
How could the district authorities, who were charged with delineating rivers, decide on such damaging moves? Rivers are supposed to be lifelines of ecology and economy. These seemingly expedient decisions allowing for private encroachment of the river banks will further upset environmental balance and encourage the land grabbers.
From the legal point of view, posting of boundary pillars along the bank excluding the foreshores is violation of the High Court orders. The HC, in June 2009, came up with a judgment and directions including demarcation of the rivers, building of walkways and plantation of trees on the banks.
The HC rulings, media campaign and awareness programs by the environment activists and lawyers have been a big stride forward towards saving the rivers. But this move of putting up pillars tends to cancel out the gains.
If the foreshores were not taken into consideration during the survey it has been a gross error on part of the authorities and a clear deviation from the HC orders.
This decision of setting up boundary pillar excluding the foreshores should be immediately scrapped and legal environment friendly measures ought to be taken to restore the rivers to their original position. This will help our waterways to a normal life otherwise we will be playing into the hands of land grabbers.
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