Barisal Correspondent :
A division bench of High Court on Monday ordered to take step for preserving Jail Khal ( Jail Canal) of Barisal and stopping filling for encroachment and dumping wastage on that canal within next two-weeks.
The order was given by the division bench consisted with Justice Moinul Islam Chowdhury and Justice Md. Ashraful Kamal in response of the writ petition filed on public interest by Advocate Asaduzzaman Siddique and moved by Advocate Manjil Morshed.
The court also issued rule to reply that why order would not be issued to stop encroachment and recover Jail Khal and also ordered opponent parties to submit report about the taken actions within next four weeks.
Secretaries of LGRD, Environment ministries, mayor of Barisal City Corporation, director general, director (enforcement), deputy director (Barisal office) of environment directorate, deputy commissioner and metropolitan police commissioner, were named as opponent parties in the petition.
Sukumar Bishwas, deputy director DoE Barisal office, said they tried their best to evict grabbers and encroachers of Jail Canal under water body act.
Three times we applied for appointing administrative magistrate to operate drives against grabbers and encroachers, but the district administration remained indifferent.
Ahsan Habib Kamal, Barisal City Corporation Mayor claimed now garbage and wastage not dumping on Jail Khal after initiative of BCC and steps including issuing eviction notices against the grabbers and encroachers already issued.
S M Sahzada, a canal and wetland recovery activist in the city, said Barisal town once called as ‘Venice of Bengal’ had nearly 600 pond and water bodies, more than 22 canals in pre-liberation period and 17 canals in post-liberation period in and around the city and Kirtankhola River was more than four kilometres wide in 50 years back.
But rampant filling, encroachments and grabbing of the water bodies caused decreasing the existences to only parts of four canals including Jail Khal, Sagordi Khal, Rayer Khal, Vatar Khal, 40 ponds in around of 45 square kilometers areas of Barisal city and width of Kirtankhola River have been limited to less than one kilometer making those water bodies rapidly dying, Shahjada added.
