The National River Conservation Commission (NRCC) of Bangladesh said to have identified around 63,000 illegal grabbers of the land of rivers and canals across the country even after the eviction of over 18,000 grabbers and illegal structures in the last one year.
Although the government has been issuing warnings against the grabbers and conducting drives against them, the number of the grabbers as well as the illegal structures on the land of rivers and canals are increasing day by day.
According to the NRCC, the land of rivers and canals are being occupied illegally in the name of industrialisation, business and housing by unscrupulous people, who are influential and powerful for their involvement with different political parties. Besides, family members and relatives of a section of moneyed men and political leaders are also involved in this illicit act.
Experts said, although the government has taken various steps to evict the illegal grabbers and structures built on the land of rivers and canals, the recovered lands are being reoccupied in absence of proper monitoring.
The experts have opined for strengthening the monitoring system for the protection of rivers and canals. They also stressed political wills to protect rivers and canals.
Prof Mir Tareq Ali of the Department of Shipping and Naval Engineering in Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) said, the government every year conducts drives to free occupied portion of the rivers from the illegal possession of grabbers. Despite that the number of grabbers and illegal structures is increasing day by day.
He said, the government should continue drives against the grabbers of the land of rivers and canals and alongside strengthening the monitoring system so that freed land could not be grabbed again.
Mujibur Rahman Hawlader, immediate past Chairman of the NRCC, said, the number of grabbers of the land of rivers and canals in 64 district across the country was around 50,000 in 2018, which was 57,000 in 2019 and in 2020, the number rose to around 63,000.
As per a recent report published by the NRCC, the highest number of 11, 245 grabbers were identified in Khulna division even after the eviction of 4,890 illegal grabbers.
On the other hand, the report says, the lowest number of 2,044 grabbers were identified in Sylhet division after the eviction of 576 illegal structures in 2019.
Accordingly, the NRCC identified 8,890 illegal grabbers in Dhaka district after the eviction of 5,935 illegal structures built by 1,452 grabbers on the land of 11 rivers and 201 canals including the Burigunga, the Turag, the Shitalakhya, the Balu, the Bongshi, the Gazikhali and the Kaligunga rivers.
The NRCC in its report also mentioned that around 19,000 out of 24,000 kilometres of waterways have been phased off due pollution and grabbing of rivers and filling up of the rivers after the independence of the country. At present there are only around 5,000 kilometres of waterways in the country.
Ashish Kumar Dey, General Secretary of the National Committee for the Protection of Waterways and Railways, said the most of the grabbers are politically influentials while some are grabbing the rivers with the help of administrative officials.
He also emphasized strengthening the monitoring system after the eviction drives to keep the possession intact.
Besides, action should be taken against those who are grabbing rivers under the umbrellas of different political parties, he said.
