Rivers and our existence
Thanks to my favourite newspaper “The Daily Star” for launching a WAR against the polluters and grabbers of the rivers surrounding the Dhaka city. My sincere tributes to the Editor, Pinaki Roy and Morshed Ali Khan for taking such a bold step with a firm commitment to winning the WAR. My sincere thanks also to the Channel i authorities, particularly Faridur Reza Sagar and S. Siraj and other print and electronic media that have supported our continuous movement to bring it up to the latest form of a WAR designed by The Daily Star and Channel i.
We from the tinny organisation Sunder Jiban and then from Bangladesh Paribesh Andolan (BAPA) have been continuously fighting to save the rivers surrounding the Dhaka city and elsewhere in the country. “Buriganga Banchao Andolan” by BAPA with the leadership of Professor Muzaffar Ahmed and Sunder Jiban has been vocal against the polluters and grabbers of Buriganga, Turag, Shitalakhya and Balu for about a decade. Under the leadership of Professor Ahmed and Dr. Matin, BAPA's movement has also been spread all over the country to save each and every river from the clutches of polluters and grabbers and also from our mighty neighbour India which is responsible for the death of many of our rivers due to construction of dams upstream on more or less 54 rivers, including Farakka on the Ganges. They are now planning to construct another dam on the river Borak at Tipaimukh which will be a serious threat to our Meghna and Kushiara. Though the WAR that The Daily Star and Channel i has started is late, but late is always better than never. And this WAR should continue to reclaim all other rivers of the country.
The water of Buriganga, Turag, Shitalakhya and Balu can no longer be treated as it is stated in a series of reports published in The Daily Star in the last couple of weeks.
Three major things are killing our rivers. First is pollution, second is siltation and the third is encroachment. About 230 rivers of our country, including 57 international rivers, carry 1.7 to 2.00 billion tons of silt every year. All these 230 rivers in Bangladesh are tributaries of the 57 international rivers, all from the upper riparian countries i.e. Nepal and India. Our great river Padma and its branches, like Madhumati, Arialkha, Dhaleshwari, etc. are quickly losing their flow due to the Farakka Barrage. Following the control of water by India through Farakka and other barrages on 54 rivers, they have lost their flow of current, and silt is depositing on their beds as a result of which new shoals are emerging, and ultimately, the rivers are dying.
Encroachment of river is another main cause of river death. This is particularly true in case of rivers surrounding major cities, especially the rivers surrounding the Dhaka city. We have four important rivers surrounding Dhaka, Narayanganj, and Tongi. These are Buriganga, Shitalakhya, Turag and Balu, and all these rivers are quickly dying because of encroachment by political and social stalwarts, influential organisations and unscrupulous people. Most of these rivers have been so squeezed and narrowed that they have lost their navigability and so communication through them has become risky. Many of them have been narrowed down to 20-30 feet or even less.
We have learnt that the prime minister has made a firm commitment to save the rivers surrounding Dhaka city and eviction of grabbers has already started. We want to see the implementation of the prime minister's decision and our demand of not only evicting the grabbers, but also the polluters, and not only from the rivers surrounding Dhaka city but also from all the rivers of the country.
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