35% of river boundary pillars erroneously placed

Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan has stated that 35 percent of the pillars, erected to determine boundaries of rivers flowing in and around the capital, have been put up in wrong places.

Emerging from the 31st meeting of the task force on protecting rivers at the Secretariat on Wednesday, the minister told journalists that 6,843 boundary pillars were supposed to be installed in the rivers.

So far 4,063 pillars were erected, out of which 942 were not set up in proper places, he said. 

The High Court on June 25, 2009 issued a 12-point directive for protection of the Buriganga, Shitalakkhya, Turag and Balu rivers.

The court in its directive asked the government to put up boundary pillars after conducting cadastral survey to demarcate boundaries of rivers surrounding the capital. 

The government formed a task force in October 2010 to give suggestions and recommendation for maintaining navigability and natural course of countries prominent rivers. 

The task force took the initiative to put up the pillars as per the court directive.

The shipping minister said instruction was given to conduct fresh survey, after removing erroneously set up pillars, to determine river boundaries.

He said original channel of the Buriganga River would be retrieved to take up a beautification project like Hatirjheel there.

The minister said Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) submitted a concept note in this regard at the meeting.

“To retrieve the original Buriganga is a big challenge as influential people have filled the river by encroaching it. But we will firmly deal with this challenge,” he said.

Officials said a committee had already been working to retrieve the original channel of the Buriganga.

He also urged all not to construct houses, mosques and temples by encroaching upon rivers.

When asked why government did not object to construction of structures by encroaching rivers at the outset, he said, “Those who were in power at that time can answer this.” 

“You (journalists) should have asked the then President Iajuddin Ahmed as to how he gave the allotment of a canal to his wife,” the minister said.

He said that canal could not be retrieved yet.

Stating that tannery waste contributes 30 percent of the river pollution in and around Dhaka, the minister said all necessary steps were taken to shift these units. 

As per a government order no raw hide will be allowed to process in Hazaribagh after March 31.

When journalists sought to know what alternative arrangement was done, the minister said, “It is for the industry ministry to decide what will be done with the raw hides and how it will deal with this challenge. We have conveyed our decision to the Industry Ministry.”