UNB, Dhaka :
The government has decided to reclaim the original channel of the Buriganga River, the lifeline of Dhaka city, aiming to save it from illegal encroachment and pollution and enhance its water flow.
The decision came from the 28th meeting of the taskforce on rivers held at the Shipping Ministry on Sunday. Shipping Minister M Shajahan Khan presided over the meeting.
The Shipping Ministry formed the taskforce to monitor the navigability and water flow of the country’s rivers in light of a High Court judgment on river encroachment.
In June 2009, the High Court in a judgment handed the government a 12-point guideline for stopping the encroachment of the Buriganga, Turag, Balu and Sitalakhya rivers around Dhaka. It also asked the government to demarcate the original boundaries of the four rivers by conducting a special survey as per the Cadastral Survey (CS) record as the onslaughts on the rivers by grabbers triggered widespread protests.
The other HC guidelines include completion of a green belt along with footways on the banks of the rivers around the capital, declaring the river belt as ecologically endangered, re-excavation of Banshi, Pungli and Tongi canals and dredging of rivers at regular intervals.
The meeting also decided to launch mobile courts against industry owners who pollute the country’s rivers and environment.
The government has decided to reclaim the original channel of the Buriganga River, the lifeline of Dhaka city, aiming to save it from illegal encroachment and pollution and enhance its water flow.
The decision came from the 28th meeting of the taskforce on rivers held at the Shipping Ministry on Sunday. Shipping Minister M Shajahan Khan presided over the meeting.
The Shipping Ministry formed the taskforce to monitor the navigability and water flow of the country’s rivers in light of a High Court judgment on river encroachment.
In June 2009, the High Court in a judgment handed the government a 12-point guideline for stopping the encroachment of the Buriganga, Turag, Balu and Sitalakhya rivers around Dhaka. It also asked the government to demarcate the original boundaries of the four rivers by conducting a special survey as per the Cadastral Survey (CS) record as the onslaughts on the rivers by grabbers triggered widespread protests.
The other HC guidelines include completion of a green belt along with footways on the banks of the rivers around the capital, declaring the river belt as ecologically endangered, re-excavation of Banshi, Pungli and Tongi canals and dredging of rivers at regular intervals.
The meeting also decided to launch mobile courts against industry owners who pollute the country’s rivers and environment.
