The Shitalakkhya's plight

IF pictures speak a thousand words then the one carried by this newspaper on the front page yesterday showing the condition of a major river speaks volumes. The unscrupulous sand traders have filled in almost half of the Shitalakkhya east of the Kanchpur Bridge creating an artificial bend.    

It speaks volumes about man's greed overriding the need to protect one's national resources. It speaks volumes about how the lead agency in this regard -- the BIWTA -- has turned a blind eye and allowed the perpetrators to wreak havoc with our rivers. And certainly the blind eye of the BIWTA is not for free.

It is alarming that most of the major rivers skirting the capital are in a moribund state. The Buriganga is all but dead given the severe state it is in due to heavy pollution. And add to that the encroachments on the river which have caused it to become almost unusable.

The current condition of the Shitalakkhya or other rivers has not happened in a day. We had been publishing such pictures from time to time. It is therefore shocking that the government agencies by not stopping the rot have colluded in the killing of a river. It needs no expert to say that the artificial bend will be the cause of siltation, which is a character of any river, thus causing it to become sedimented quickly.

Could we ask the relevant ministries to please wake up to the slow death of our rivers?  And, would it be asking too much of the BIWTA to explain the reason for their inaction in this regard?