Immediately after eviction of illegal structures on the bank of Buriganga, a section of unscrupulous people re-erect more solid structures with the support of local political goons. The encroachers use the same trick, such as, dumping garbage beside the river bank aiming to fill the lowland and establish small or medium installations. Vast lands of the river bank have been filled with such wastes.
Last December, the authorities evicted grabbers from vast lands of the Buriganga. They removed several illegal structures set up by influential persons on land grabbed along the river. The authorities however could not remove all illegal structures set up on the river due to certain court cases. The Buriganga has long been turned into a dead river through indiscriminate pollution of its water. The quality of its water turns so bad during the dry months that no aquatic life can survive in it. The task of saving the river should start with relentless drives of demolishing illegal factories and business establishments, markets on its bed.
Following the shifting of the polluting tanneries from Dhaka’s Hazaribagh area to Savar, the western part of the Buriganga has been in a healthy state for the last four years. It has provided a relief of sorts to the people residing on the river’s banks. If properly conserved the river can become a major recreation area for residents of capital Dhaka. The Buriganga joining with the Sitalakhya, the Turag and the Balu form a garland around the city. Efforts have been made to ply circular water buses on these rivers to ease communication to the city from its suburbs. The circular water route, if properly developed, could be a major tourist attraction. These rivers should be freed from encroachment grabbers and protected from pollution to unleash their development potentials.
