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Zero tolerance for river encroachment
Rivers have long been considered a defining feature of our national identity
There are no two ways about it: Governments past and present have utterly failed to save Bangladesh’s rivers.Rivers have long been considered a defining feature of our national identity, but the rate at which our rivers are being lost, primarily to the nefarious forces of encroachment, it won’t be long before our rivers are well and truly murdered.
According to a recent study conducted by National Geographic Society, Riverine People, and Drik Picture Library, the River Buriganga has seen a 16km stretch give way to encroachment, primarily at the hands of real estate developers, factories, and local establishments. This flagrant act of encroachment is being facilitated by administrative apathy, despite having the laws in place to discourage this practice.
It was around five years ago that the High Court had asked the authorities to stop the prevailing practice of encroachers and grabbers being restrained only for a short period of time after a court order, but the practice never died out as it keeps going back to business as usual.
River encroachment is almost always found to be carried out by influential locals with vested interests, with former government officials having recognized this in the past as a problem as well. And yet encroachment lives on.
When can we expect the government to finally put a stop to this madness?
Rivers are Bangladesh’s lifeblood -- they were nothing short of instrumental for our nation’s early development and still provide livelihoods for far too many people. But more than that they are one of the defining characteristics of our nation’s natural splendour.
Unless concerted efforts are taken to preserve the sanctity of our rivers through cleanup efforts and, more importantly, by keeping unscrupulous encroachers at bay, we are doomed to see our rivers dying a slow, horrific death.