To save the country’s major six rivers, the government has approved a master plan which includes short, medium and long term crash programmes.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has already approved the master plan and gave directives to take steps for implementation without making any delay.
The rivers are: Buriganga, Shitalakhya, Turag and Balu of Dhaka and Karnaphuli and Halda River of Chattogram.
Under the masterplan’s crash programme, there are plans to construct river boundary wall, identify illegal encroachment, protecting recovered river banks, stopping river pollution and giving highest importance on river navigability.
The master plan includes 24 main programmes and 180 associate programmes have been identified under the master plans to prevent pollution and encroachment of rivers and enhance navigability of water bodies surrounding Dhaka. In the 2nd master plan, 45 main programmes for Karnaphuli and Halda Rivers and 167 associate programmes have been identified under the main programmes.
Under the crash programme, three to six month timeframe have been scheduled for four activities named identifying river boundary, identifying illegal encroachment, recovering illegal encroachment and protecting recovered areas. These activities are being conducted by the Prime Minister’s office, Land Ministry, Environment Ministry, National River Conservation Commission (NRCC), Department of Land Records and Surveys, RAJUK, CDA, BIWTA and district administration.
The authority concerned has already begun recovering illegal encroachment from the very beginning of this year which will continue further, an official of concerned ministry informed. Seven concerned ministries and departments are engaged in this procedure.
On the other hand, a separate committee is about to be formed within three months to increase the river navigability, reforming regulation and amending laws. This will be implemented by PMO and Shipping Ministry.
Apart from these, Chattogram Port Authority, BIWTA, Water Development Board and NRCC will start river dredging from this month. Under the crash programme, the authority has framed a schedule of two to five months to know the reason of pollution and solutions to stop pollution.
Midterm crash programme includes, identifying the illegal encroachment of the above-mentioned river, the authority will work first six months of next year. Under this activity the authority will also conduct miscellaneous research and survey activities for saving the rivers within six months to one year.
According to shipping ministry information, it was known that, the government vows to recover all illegally encroached land on river banks and also to free the rivers of any pollution, reclaim the original appearance and recover navigable channels of the rivers.
The master plan also includes activity to stop pollution and ensure flow of water within the next seven months, which will be implemented by Ministry of Water Resource (MoWR) and BIWTA.
To ensure navigability of the rivers, PMO, MoWR, City Corporations, BIWTA, Bangladesh Police and NRCC will work five years from 2020.
PMO, BIWTA and Environment Ministry will work to identify cause of pollution, source and solution within 2021 while policy to stop pollution will implement by environment ministry, Law Ministry, Industries Ministry and Local Government Department.
It is to be noted, about 4,000 illegal structures have been destroyed and 600 acres of the occupied river areas have been recovered aiming to develop river routes and restore the environment in four rivers surrounding Dhaka – Buriganga, Turag, Balu and Shitalakhya.
Apart from creating forestation and setting up eco-parks and walkways on the recovered land and installing permanent boundary pillars alongside the rivers, the government has taken a mega plan to dredge the country’s rivers.
The State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury about rivers said, “The present government has taken initiatives to free these rivers from pollution and land encroachers. As part of the master plan, the government will set up boundary pillars, create walkways for public movement and build eco parks for recreation. We hope to achieve these development works within next 10 years.”
Experts opined, major rivers like the Buriganga, Shitayalakka, Turag, Balu and Karnaphuli, Halda have started to become narrow because of unabated encroachment.
Occasional drives to evict the illegal occupants yielded no permanent solution as the encroachers always came back after the cranes and bulldozers left the scene. But the master plan will not repeat the same scenario again- they further said.
Poribesh BachaoAndolon (POBA) Chairman Abu Naser Khan said, as the present eviction is not spearing any high ups or political leaders, even no certain group is showing any courage to protest this government measures and it is expected that this time they will be success to regain the lost rivers of the country.
