Grabbing on as river 'missing' in land office documents

Houses, factories, farmlands occupy most of Jamuneswari flowing thru' Nilphamari town

30 June 2009, 17:00 PM

Eam Asaduzzaman, Nilphamari

Encroachers have erected concrete walls and put piles of sandbags on the bed of Jamuneswari River at Baroipara in Nilphamari, stagnating the watercourse flowing through the town. Photo: STAR

Old Jamuneswari River, flowing through Nilphamari town for hundreds of years, is non-existent in the land department's official maps and documents. The riverbed areas are shown as usual lands and private properties, giving encroachers a sort of impunity against their illegal act. However, the river, popularly known as 'Bamondanga', still flows as a narrow canal while nine big bridges over its course through the municipality bears testimony to its once mighty existence. On its bank was set up once busy river port Shakha Machha Bandor that eventually developed into Nilphamari town around hundred years ago. In mid sixties a leader of the then Muslim League grabbed a large portion of the river to extend his homestead near Baroipara in the town. From then on, grabbing has continued on the 30-metre wide riverbed stretching about eight kilometres from near district police lines to Circuit House. Rice mills, jute pressing mills, godowns for tobacco leaves and other commercial infrastructures along with residential buildings were constructed even on the riverbed. With drastic fall in its flow, the river dries up in summer and floods in rainy season. The riverbed areas at places appear as marshy lands or farmlands while the grabbers claim to be legal owners of the riverbed as they have documents like deed of purchase from previous owners, mutation certificate and latest land survey record. During an inquiry about the river at the local land office it was found that the State Acquisition (SA) map drawn in 1962 shows no sign of this river although in the Cadastral Survey (CS) map drawn in early twentieth century, there is clear evidence of the river's existence. A history book titled 'Nilphamarir Itihash' also gives a brief description of the river. “Although Bamondanga River became part of our culture in the region, it now seems a past history,” said octogenarian Lokman Hossain, a resident of Kanial Khata village beside the river, also the founder of Bamondanga Football Club. Nilphamari municipality Mayor Dewan Kamal Ahmed expressed his utter helplessness to recover the river from grabbers as he has no magistracy power. “The present government is very sincere to free rivers from illegal grabbers. We are looking into the matter,” ADC (Revenue) of Nilphamari Moloy Kumar Roy told newsmen. “Filling up the riverbed will bring ecological disaster. We will consult Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association about legal proceedings against the grabbers to recover the river,” said SJ Alam, executive director of Campaign for Assistance, Mobility and Promotion (CAMP), a local NGO working for environment protection.