Staff Reporter :
Green campaigners on Saturday urged the government to recover the old channel of Buriganga River from the clutches of grabbers.
Indiscriminate dumping of wastes, filling of river banks with earth and releasing of industrial effluents to the channel are to be stopped immediately, they said at a human chain organized by Save the Environment Movement (SEM) in front of the Jatiya Press Club.
SEM Joint-Secretary Hafizur Rahman, who presided over the programme, said the old channel of Buriganga has been narrowed down due to different illegal constructions in its areas.
“Some local influential people are causing harm to the old channel of Buriganga, which is very important for communication, economy, public health and environment,” he said.
People are dumping wastes, constructing structures on the river banks and releasing toxic industrial effluents to the channel, causing serious pollution and water logging in the nearby areas, Hafizur said.
Despite court’s order and the Prime Minister’s directives, the authorities concerned did not take any effective initiative except conducting some sporadic drives to free the old channel from illegal grabbing, Amir Hasan, President of Green Mind Society, said.
He also stressed the need for the installation of pillars after demarcating its area as per CS record to protect the channel from further encroachment, he noted.
The authorities should disconnect the power and gas connections from the houses and industries, which are illegally constructed on the old channel area, Hasan said.
Among others, Abdus Sobhan, Monzoor Hasan Dilu, Shamim Khan, Atiq Morshed, Imfa Hossain and mahbubul Haque also spoke on the occasion.
