FOUR rivers – Buriganga, Shitalakkhya, Turag and Balu, the lifelines of the capital Dhaka – are counting their days to die a slow death. It is awfully unfortunate that the blessings the Dhaka citizenries inherited from those rivers have turned into nightmares simply because of mindless encroachment combined with insensitivity on the part of some otherwise influential and blessed people and the authorities concerned. A report of an English daily said, even the direct intervention of the Prime Minister has failed to reclaim land of the four major rivers surrounding Dhaka city. During a review meeting on July 27, the Prime Minister put emphasis on reclamation of encroached river land for circular waterways around the capital and for constructing a circular road network. Earlier in May’ 2013, the Prime Minister associated herself in the reclamation drive as the task-force led by the Shipping Minister ‘could not perform according to expectations’. But no effort can pin down the encroachers who seem to have more power than the Prime Minister. They even dare to disregard a High Court’s ruling of June 2009 in which the government was directed to dredge the four rivers immediately. The HC Division also asked the government to demarcate the boundary of those four rivers in two years time, to improve navigability in five years and to erect demarcation pillars, build walkways and plant trees on the river banks by November 2010.
A law was, however, passed in the Parliament in July 2013 to constitute a National River Protection Commission, but the government is yet to form such a body to protect the rivers from the greedy clutches of the encroachers. What is more lacking is the absence of a co-ordination process among the concerned government functionaries.
Therefore, a malicious practice is working among the authorities involved to blame each other i.e. BIWTA blames PWD or PWD takes opportunities of lame excuses of alleging other concerned departments, and thus paves ways for the vested interests to take hold of rivers’ bank illegally. A happy interplay of interests between the politicians, especially the Parliament members of related local constituencies covering the four river areas, ruling party cadres and the government high-ups has made an unholy nexus to swallow the rivers and their banks around the capital. Those who are responsible to save the water lifelines of the urban people are now engaged in a dishonest game of money making.
Media outcry or the public efforts through various movements could do nothing except force the authorities to undertake a half-hearted sludge removal project for the time being. But no long-term plan is yet in hand to protect the rivers, the core water supply links and the environmental safety of the capital city. Mere piece-meal patch works to save Dhaka’s river are nothing – just eyewash. Forming the National River Protection Commission is more imperative to address the problem in a comprehensive manner.
There must be a political will to keep the capital city as a livable place, provide its people with ensured water supply and keep the surroundings environment friendly.
