Staff Reporter :
The High Court (HC) on Thursday ordered the concerned bodies of the government to submit a report in the court on what steps they have taken to prevent water pollution in Buriganga River according to the guideline of a verdict delivered by the HC eight years ago.
The HC Bench of Justice Gobinda Chandra Tagore and Justice Mohammad Ullah passed the order after hearing a supplementary petition filed by a rights organization, Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB), seeking directives from the HC as the guidelines were not followed by the concerned bodies issued earlier in the verdict of 2011.
HRPB filed the supplementary petition as the water pollution in Buriganga River was not being stopped. Managing Director of WASA, Chairman of BIWTA, Director General of the Department of Environment, Director (Port and Traffic) of BIWTA, Deputy Commissioner of Dhaka, DSCC and OCs of Lalbagh, Kamrangirchar, Hazaribagh, Demra and Kotwali Police Stations of Dhaka were asked to submit the report within two weeks after getting the HC order.
Advocate Manzill Murshid appeared in the court on behalf of the petition, while Deputy Attorney General A S M Nazmul Haque stood for the State.
Advocate Manzill Murshid said, “HC issued some guidelines in a verdict in 2011 to prevent Buriganga’s water pollution. HC ordered the concerned bodies of the government to take some steps to stop sewerage lines and industrial lines inside the Buriganga within six months. Besides, the bodies were asked to raise awareness so that the garbage cannot be wasted on the bank of the Buriganga River.”
“But the water pollution in Buriganga continued as the concerned bodies did not follow the HC instructions fullly. So, on behalf of HRPB, I filed a supplementary petition seeking restoration of the guidelines of the verdict,” he said.
The HC fixed May 20 for further hearing on the petition, said the lawyer.
