Reclaiming Turag River
BIWTA takes down illegal building, walls
A Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) team in a drive yesterday knocked down a building and six boundary walls and
detained nine workers from seven dredgers and a sand carrying vessel in the Turag river.
Dhaka district Magistrate Abu Sayeed of the team also seized six sections of a pipe, approximately 100 metres in length, used in pumping out sand from rivers and auctioned off a pile of sand for Tk one lakh.
The second day’s drive of the two-day campaign was carried out along a 15-kilometre stretch from Sinnirtek to Ashulia to free the river from grabbers.
The team was led by BIWTA Director (port) Md Shafiqul Haque and Magistrate Sayeed and comprised a tugboat Agropathik, workboat Argroz and 60 workers.
The building and boundary walls were constructed by illegally filling up the river and the pipe was seized for being used to illegally extract sand from the river, said Turag and Ashulia police station sources.
The sand pile was auctioned off as the owner had illegally deposited it on the shore of the Turag while the workers were detained for illegally extracting sand from the river. The workers were released without any case being filed, added the sources.
Newly appointed BIWTA Chairman Dr Md Shamsuddoha Khandakar earlier said he would make rivers around the capital free from pollution and encroachment within a year.
-With The Daily Star input
