Prepare list of grabbers

A parliamentary body has asked the National River Protection Commission to prepare a list of grabbers and illegal structures in four rivers surrounding Dhaka that includes the Buriganga, the Turag, the Sitalokkha and the Balu rivers as soon as possible.

The parliamentary standing committee on the shipping ministry also wanted to know from the NRPC how many illegal structures would be possible to evict in three months and serve notice to the respective grabbers accordingly.

NRPC has informed the parliamentary watchdog that as a model they have formed a 14-member committee to completely free the Balu river from grabbers and pollution within six months and to prepare a master plan for increasing navigability of this river within one month.

According to the working paper of yesterday's meeting of the Jatiya Sangsad committee, Kamrun Nahar Ahmed, permanent member, NRPC, was made convener of the committee.

"We have strongly asked the national river protection commission to free the country's all rivers from grabbers and polluters as soon as possible no matter what are the political identity of the grabbers," Dr Samil Uddin Ahmed Shimul, a member of the JS body who was present at the meeting, told The Daily Star.

He said the committee has asked the NRPC to prepare the list of how many illegal structures and grabbers are there in the four rivers surrounding Dhaka.

The working paper of the meeting showed that the NRPC has recommended forming a separate ministry under the title of Ministry of Rivers and Water Bodies to save the country's rivers.

NRPC argued that the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Water Resources has failed to protect and save the country's 700 rivers from grabbers and polluters.

AL MP Rafiqul Islam chaired the meeting while lawmakers Mazharul Hoque Pradhan, Ranajit Kumar Roy, Samil Uddin, Aslam Hossain and SM Shahjada attended the meeting.