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92 serious encroachments on the Buriganga

By Staff Correspondent
The BIWTA has identified 92 'serious encroachments' on the river Buriganga between Dharmaganj under Fat-ulla thana and Barishur under KeraniganJ and warned that if these obstacles are not removed the river Is sure to die'.
The list of encroachers include Sena Kalyan Sangstha and many other big organisations and influential people. The Sangstha has a project at Shyampur Bazar.
BIWTA Officials said only a firm government policy could clear the river of these ‘deadly obstacles’. "If the government prioritises election and vote Instead of the lifeline, the river will not survive this sort of onslaught ", one of them said.
The BIWTA is now planning to dredge the Buriganga from Dharmaganj to Kholamura hoping that depth of the river would demarcate its area well and discourage further
encroachment.
They showed this correspondent an office larfiiap and said the shore, foreshore and channel of the river were clearly demarcated through a joint survey by the Deputy Commissioner's office and the BIWTA in 1992. But after mapping, the authorities failed to demarcate the river with any signboard or large vandal proof pillars, they said. Sec Meanwhile, the DCs office violated all its commitments to keep the river clear and 'leased or sold out' big stretches of foreshore areas.
At the same time, the DCs office gave 30 years' lease to Bl-WTA for maintenance of shore, foreshore and the channel for navigation The lease is renewable every year. The B1WTA pays the DC s office about Tk 12 lakh annually for the lease.
"At many places along the fixer's foreshore, we found people building structures by filling up the river. They produced papers issued by the DCs office,“ said a BIWTA official
"We h^ve no resources or l< Sial mandate to book these <>|-enders. The only thing we < an do is to lodge a complaint but nothing has happened so tar he said
Top BIWTA officials, im hiding its Chairman, was learnt to have been “shocked " yesterday when they took an inspeetion trip on the river The officials inspected about ten kilometres of the river from Fatulla and Basila and compared the actual position with the 1992 map
Sources said that the BIWTA officials were very much concerned' about the fate of the river but expressed their helplessness' in protecting it from encroachers
“We would probably need help from BDR and Army to remove these obstacles Only the highest authorities can take a decision In such circumstances.'' said one source. "The vmroatheis ate vei\ influential people with both financial and politic al bakings.