Declare Bangshi river an environmentally critical area

Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association today urged the government to declare Bangshi river in Dhaka’s Savar an environmentally critical area (ECA).
The rights organisation, in a letter sent to the concerned officials of the government to this end, also called for necessary steps to protect the river from encroachment and pollution in compliance with the High Court’s directives.
Earlier on January 2 this year, following a writ petition filed by BELA, the HC directed the officials concerned of the government — chairman of the National River Conservation Commission, director general and deputy director of the Department of Environment, director general of Bangladesh Water Development Board, deputy commissioner of Dhaka, and upazila nirbahi officer of Savar — to prepare a complete list of grabbers and polluters of Bangshi river and submit it before the court within three months.
The HC also directed the Savar Municipality mayor and the executive director of Dhaka Export Processing Zone authority to immediately stop dumping of municipal and industrial wastes into the river.
BELA today sent the letter to the secretaries to the ministries of environment, forest and climate change, water resources, and land; chairman of NRCC; director generals of DoE and BWDB, DS and SP of Dhaka, deputy director (Dhaka district office) of DoE; UNO of Savar; and executive director of Dhaka EPZ authority.
In the letter, it said the complete list of the occupiers and polluters of the river has not been prepared even though more than three months have passed since the HC directive was issued in this regard.
A BELA team recently visited Namabazar area on the riverbank and observed that structures have been built by illegally occupying the river’s land, including those in the name of Sheikh Russell Mini Stadium in Bhagalpur area of ​​Savar Municipality, while dumping of wastes at different places along the river has continued, the letter read.
The rights body also requested officials concerned to evict all illegal structures from the riverbank, prepare the list of land grabbers and polluters, take steps to stop dumping of wastes and restore the river’s natural flow of its water, demarcate the river’s boundaries through conducting a survey, and declare the river an ECA under section 5 of the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act, 1995.