Remove illegal structures from city canals
Shahjahan asks Wasa
Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan yesterday came down heavily upon Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) for its negligence and failure to preserve the canals of the city and giving way to illegal occupation.
Shahjahan asked Wasa Chairman Golam Mustafa to immediately remove illegal structures on the canals of the city and start dredging the canals.
He blamed Wasa for losing the canals to illegal occupants and warned of stern action in future for failure in maintenance and supervision of the canals.
The minister expressed his annoyance while visiting the Ramchandpur, Katasur, Hazaribagh and Kalyanpur canals.
State Minister for LGRD Jahangir Kabir Nanok, local MP Aslamul Haq Aslam, Wasa Chairman Golam Mustafa, Deputy Commissioner Mohibul Haque and senior officials of DCC accompanied the minister during the visit.
Dhaka Wasa is responsible for maintaining 26 canals, which are losing width at different places due to encroachment.
The canals are Kalyanpur main canal, Kalyanpur Ka, Kha, Gha, Uma and Cha canals, Katasur, Ramchandpur, Abdullahpur, Begunbari, Digun, Gulshan-Banani, Mohakhali, Hazaribagh, Khilgaon-Basabo, Manda, Sutivola, Shahjadpur, Rupnagar, Baisteki, Sangabadik Colony, Bouniya, Ibrahimpur, Housing canal in Mirpur-14, Koshaibari, Segunbagicha, and Jirani.
The minister expressed dissatisfaction to find the canals narrowing down, occupied by land grabbers and covered by concrete constructions.
He instructed to form a committee comprising representatives of administration, DCCC, Wasa to identify the illegal occupants of the canals.
Later briefing newsmen at Wasa office, Shahjahan Khan, also chairman of Task Force formed by the prime minister, said illegal occupants of the canals must be evicted.
Task Force was formed to remove encroachments from rivers and canals as well as to regain navigability by dredging them.
Shahjahan Khan said he found negligence of duty on the part of Wasa officials, as they did not regularly visit to see the condition of the canals.
“If the officers do not perform their responsibility from now on, they have to go home with bag and baggage,” warned the Minister.
He said 259 hawkers have already been evicted from Sadarghat terminal area as part of programme of keeping water of the Buriganga free from pollution.
Law will be applied strictly to recover the canals. Illegal occupants should be evicted and structures demolished, the minister told the officials.
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