& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Saving our lifelines

M. Shah Alam
****Civil society and NGOs became more vocal and active. Government officials and representatives in Parliament, including the prime minister, responded positively and instructed concerned authorities to do what was necessary to save the rivers.***
Rivers are the lifelines of Bangladesh. Of the few riverine countries in the world, Bangladesh figures prominently. The rivers, their tributaries, and the innumerable canals they feed, form a well-knit but complex network of arteries that support the ecology and life-system of Bangladesh. Our lifestyle, culture and livelihood are the outcome of our river system. Any gross violation that blocks the arteries of this system shakes menacingly the lives of its millions.
Geographically, almost all of our rivers originate in the upper neighbouring riparian countries, thus seriously constraining our options to take care of these rivers. Good neighbourliness, diplomatic negoti-
case, an integrated regional river basin approach for the use and management of our water resources, and national unity to skilfully employ our limited options, are the prime factors to preserve the natural flow of our rivers and to use them for the benefit of all co-riparians.
However, management of rivers and their waters inside the country is equally important, and this poses the most formi-dable task for Bangladesh now. Encroachment on and grabbing of the rivers, and the pollution of river waters have increased alarmingly. The Daily Star and Channel i launched a vigorous movement a few months back to alert the nation and authorities to the dangerous consequences that we face if no effective steps are taken. Although they focused on the four rivers around Dhaka, namely,
this can be true of all of our country's rivers, especially those around our cities and towns.
The rivers have been choked by grabbers and polluted by industrial discharges, as depicted in grim print and electronic media reports and pictorials, indicating dire consequences for greater Dhaka. In a series of reports, administrative, legal, land, river and environmental issues were so strongly presented that both the people and the government reacted with greater concern this time.
Civil society and NGOs became more vocal and active. Government officials and representatives in Parliament, including the prime minister, responded positively and instructed concerned authorities to do what was necessary to save the rivers. Many demolitions followed instantly, and plans and perspectives declared to save and preserve the rivers in their natural forms. This time, government efforts seemed to be making a difference.
Social movements for rivers and government actions to rescue them were not uncommon in thepast, but their outcomes and successes were limited. This was true for not only rivers, but also other water bodies inside our cities and towns. The
court directives have been flouted by the government, and by grabbers and polluters, how authorities have condoned the violations of the country's laws, and how muscle power has prevailed often over the power of law.
One positive development in the matter has been the higher judiciary’s role and pro bono advocacy. The High Court Division's latest directives (June 25) have asked the authorities to a) make credible surveys of the rivers; b) identify their original boundaries; c) recover the grabbed lands; and d) take effective measures to protect the rivers. The court also asked them to submit reports on the implementation of these directives. The court passed similar directives in 2000 on a petition by the Bangladesh Environmental lawyers' Association (Bela), which have not been complied with. This time, the court's determination and the government's response appeared encouraging.
One big problem Bangladesh faces is maintaining what has been achieved, or pursuing the solution of a problem to its final end. Even NGOs and civil society, which launch movements, the judiciary which is proactive, and government functionaries who seemingly respond posi-
After last June's media movement and its accompanying response, we expect that the authorities will do some strategic planning to sustain our lifelines. What everyone concerned, including the court and the parliamentary standing committee, suggested is that proper surveys be made to find out the exact boundaries of the rivers, demarcate them, and rescue them from the clutches of the grabbers and polluters.
Over the years, land records and documents of ownership may have gone sea changes; illegal acts may have been legalised. However, the government has options. To make the rivers flow like rivers, the government has the right and duty to acquire land that may have been illegally acquired, and later made "legal." Public interest should reign supreme in all expediencies and controversies.
The present laws (The Canals Act, 1864; The Irrigation Act, 1876; Embankment and Drainage Act, 1952; Ground Water Management Ordinance, 1985; Water Resources Planning Act, 1992; Bangladesh Water Development Board Act, 2000; The Playground. Open Spaces, Gardens and Water Bodies Conservation Act, 2000, and others) and institutions of the country are
preserve our rivers and other water bodies. Even the laws we have are not observed and enforced. What we need is a more comprehensive law and a credible institutional enforcement mechanism.
The time has come to speak out for a strong domestic river or water-courses law -- an all-embracing parliamentary act to 1) rescue our rivers and restore their natural flow by regaining lost land and dredging; 2) make grabbing impossible by constructing embankments and pucca roads by the riversides; 3) coordinate the activities of related government agencies; 4) take effective measures to keep rivers pollution free; 5) make the violation of the law both a criminal and a civil liability; and 6) form a strong river body, i.e. a river commission, to implement the law.
There is now sufficient amount of awareness among the people and the government about the dire consequences of neglecting the issue. This must lead to a sense of compulsion to establish the necessary law and institution to protect and preserve our rivers and other water bodies, especially in and around our major cities.