Crackdown on sand traders grabbing Turag

BIWTA and Dhaka district administration jointly launched a three-day eviction drive yesterday against encroachers in the Turag near Gabtoli-Amin Bazar Bridge on the city's outskirts.
Replying to a query BIWTA Chairman Md Abdul Mannan Howlader told The Daily Star, “I have instructed all river port officials today to file cases against all river grabbers.”
“We have launched a three-day eviction drive at this point of Turag but it will continue to go on until the encroachers are fully evicted,” he said.
The drive started at around 10:30am with removal of a huge pile of sand of Lutfor Rahman who grabbed a section of the river to the north of Gabtoli Bridge. The chairman arrived at the site at 12:00 noon.
Responding to a query how to protect the river flood plain once recovered, Howlader said, “Construction of embankments as a permanent demarcation along the rivers surrounding Dhaka city is the answer.”
Three excavators and labourers in the presence of police force and BIWTA Senior Deputy Director Golam Kabir and Deputy Director Saiful Islam started the excavation of sand.
Executive Magistrate Mohammad Mokbul Hossain joined the team by the noon.
A total of 70 encroachers were identified along the Gabtoli and Amin Bazar banks of the river.
The list includes 44 encroachers on the Gabtoli bank to the south of the bridge, 23 to the north and three on the Amin Bazar bank. Most of them erected concrete and makeshift structures on the Turag.
“The encroachers have occupied a total of 7.5 acres foreshore of the river including four acres to the south of the bridge and three and a half acres to the north,” said Saiful Islam.
BIWTA leased out the river foreshore temporarily on daily basis under the Open Space Charge (OSC) to the traders at a rate of Tk3 per square metre, said officials.
It also issues yearly-basis license to the traders on the open shore at a rate of Tk800 per decimal, they added.
“Of the 70 encroachers BIWTA issued licenses to 24 sand traders to run their business,” said a BIWTA official seeking anonymity.
In most cases, these traders gobbled up the river foreshore and encroached upon the river.
“We have not rented out the flood plain or issued any license to sand traders for its use since last January,” said Senior Deputy Director Golam Kabir of Dhaka River Port.
The stretch of the Turag from Basila to Ashulia is under the Dhaka River Port.
BIWTA went into a contract with the Mantasha Dredging Company and under the terms of the contract it would take the sand and demolish the illegal structures in exchange.
“Dhaka might turn into a desolate city unless the four rivers including the Buriganga, Turag, Balu and Shitalakhya around it are recovered,” said Howlader.
The total length of the rivers around Dhaka is 110 kilometres, he said, adding that at least 50 to 60 kilometres of it should be demarcated with embankment and walkway.
Earlier an eviction drive was also carried out against river grabbers in the Turag near Gabtoli and Amin Bazar during the caretaker government in 2007.
A total of 3194 encroachers were evicted from the Buriganga during 2001 and 2007. But most of them came back later on, said Islam.
Replying to why the district administration concerned does not sue the grabbers of Khas land, Magistrate Mokbul Hossain said, “It has never been in practice.”
A total of 63 structures were identified for demolition on the Tongi part of the Turag while 69 on the Dhaka part around Tongi River Port.
Most of the structures were pulled down during a nine-day eviction drive that ended on June 11.
The ongoing drive against encroacher in Shitalakhya resumes Saturday.