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Helping rivers help us

M. Abdul Latif Mondal
THE Daily Star and Channel i organised a campaign titled ’For the attention of the Prime Minister: Save rivers, save Dhaka" on Junel at the South Plaza of the parliament. which was followed by a photographic exhibition that showed encroachment upon the rivers in and around Dhaka city and the resultant pollution of ri vers.
The Speaker of the parliament Abdul Hamid inaugurated the campaign. While addressing the inaugural function, the speakers, including ministers, lawmakers. distinguished professionals, academicians, top business leaders and others, stressed, inter alia, the need for enacting a tough and comprehensive law on the protection of rivers.
Rivers are one of the many different types of inland water bodies, also known as wetlands, in the country. While the total area of inland water bodies comes to 72,899 sq km, the rivers constitute 7,497 sq km. that is, 10.28% of the total area of the inland water bodies. Various studies suggest that reckless human interven-
tions, both internal and external, have already led to the death of 13 rivers, and 7 more are on the verge of dying.
The rivers Buriganga, Sitalakha, TUrag and Balu, which sen e as the lifeline of the capital city Dhaka, have become victims of powerful and ruthless river-gobblers and polluters. There are media reports about the construction of offices, etc on the riverbeds around the capital even by government agencies.
The question may arise as to why it is important to enact a tough and comprehensive law on the protection of rivers. The need for enacting such a law arises from a number of considerations, which are briefly presented below.
First, the laws on water bodies - The Bengal Canal Act 1864, The Bengal Irrigation Act 1876, East Bengal Embankment and Drainage Act 1952, Inland Water Transport Ordinance 1958, East Pakistan Irrigation (Imposition of Water Rate) Ordinance 1963, Ground Water Management Ordinance 1985, Water Supply and Sewerage Authority Act 1996, etc -- are, as their titles indicate, sectoral in nature.
Even the Bangladesh Environment Protection Act 1995 and the rules made under it focus attention mainly on pollution by industries and transports, and the grabbing of rivers or any other water body does not come within the jurisdiction of the Act and its rules.
Second, the latest Act -- "The Playground, Open Spaces, Gardens, and Water Bodies Conservation Act 2000" — suffers from loopholes and inadequacies regarding protection of rivers and other water bodies. Section 1 of this Act suggests that it has application on the water
bodies, including rivers of the cities, divisional and district towns and municipalities. Rivers and other water bodies in the rural areas are outside the jurisdiction ofthisAct
The Act thus fails to ensure protection to the vast tracts of water bodies, including rivers beyond the city areas and the municipalities. The Act does not have any provision that prohibits construction of any kind of permanent or temporary structure within a determined distance of the rivers or other water bodies. The Act also does not have any provision which provides that the rivers or other wafer bodies that have been marked in survey records and exist in other government approved documents will be recovered if they have been encroached.
Moreover, although the Act specifies the fine and imprisonment term for violation of any of its provisions, it does not direct the government to recover the original characteristics of the rivers and other water bodies if someone fills thorn up.
Third, there are separate authorities to administer the above-mentioned laws. So, there is an inherent problem of coordination. The lack of coordination frustrates the drives against the encroachers of rivers. In his speech at the inauguration of the campaign, Mahfuz Anam, Editor of The Daily Star, rightly pointed out that the people did not know which single authority was responsible for protection of rivers.
This justifies die enactment of a new and comprehensive law providing for, among others, a single body in the form of "a river commission or authority fully responsible for looking after rivers "
Last but not the least, rivers play an important role in shaping the economic, commercial, socio-cultural and ecological aspects of the life of the people of Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, almost all the major cities, towns and commercial centres are located on the banks of rivers.
The rivers and their tributaries serve as the most important transport arteries and play a vital role in national life. The
rivers and other wetlands are important habitats for a large variety of flora and fauna of local, national and regional significance.
The enormous volume of sediments that the rivers carry to the Bay of Bengal each year builds new land along the sea front, keeping hope alive for future extension of settlement. But rivers are dying due to man-made activities. So, a tough and comprehensive law is needed to protect our life saving rivers from the greed of land grabbers and other vested interest groups, including polluters.
In view of what has been stated above, the need for enactment of a tough and comprehensive law for the protection and conservation of rivers across the country can hardly be overemphasised. It is good to see that the chief executive of the republic made a strong pledge on the World Environment Day (June 5) to protect rivers from the river- grabbers and polluters.
The speaker and members of parliament had made strong commitments earlier (June 1) to take every measure necessary to stop illegal grabbing and pollution of the rivers flowing throughout the country. In his inaugural address at the aforesaid campaign, the speaker said that if the government brought such a bill, he would do his best for its passage at the earliest. The sooner it materialises, the better it will be for the nation.
M. Abdul Latif Mondal Is a former Secretary. E-mail: Iatifm43@yahoo com.