The authorities have failed to implement a High Court order to prevent greedy land-grabbers from filling up river-beds and encroaching the banks of rivers around the city. These unscrupulous people are running their businesses in connivance with some Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) officials, a sand trader on the bank of the Turag at Aminbazar said on condition of anonymity. The HC issued a show-cause notice to the BIWTA asking it to explain in 10 days why it should not be directed to evict sand traders from the river banks and protect the area from encroachment on November 6 last year. However, the BIWTA is yet to carry out the HC order to free the river banks from encroachment, a visit to rivers like the Turag on the northern outskirts of the capital showed. Earlier, the High Court had passed another order on June 24-25, 2009, to protect the four rivers around Dhaka. Sand traders could not run their business, according to this order.
Allegations have been levelled that a section of BIWTA employees, in cahoots with the local police, is allowing the trade in construction materials to continue in lieu of money collected as ‘service charge’ for using the public land. Hundreds of sand, stone-chips and brick traders are running the illegal business right from Gabtoli, Amin Bazar, Shinnirtek and Diabari to Ashulia on the bank of the Turag.
Encroachments on the river banks have affected the river’s flow, occupying even the areas demarcated by pillars, which mark the boundaries of the river banks. It has been alleged that the Turag has almost been gobbled up by the encroachers and virtually reduced to a small canal.
The BIWTA also failed to implement a High Court order to protect the four rivers — the Buriganga, the Turag, the Balu and the Shitalakhya — from encroachment and pollution.
BIWTA chairman Dr Samsuddoha Khondaker said, “It has been a long process to free the city river banks from encroachment.” Sixteen kilometres of walkways with trees are being constructed along the river banks to keep the encroachers away, he said, claiming that “we have already evicted about 100 sand traders from the river banks through mobile courts.”
All this is being done in compliance with the High Court order. But we sometimes face problems of litigation as some people claim that they own land beside the rivers, he said.
Responding to a query regarding allegations of bribery during the eviction, the BIWTA chief said, “Some people may have been involved in corruption in the past, but no one is involved in corruption now.”
-With The Independent input
