The New Nation - Internet Edition

THE river Buriganga once formed a very important part of the environment of Dhaka city. It was a clean flowing river that added an aesthetic appeal to the residents of the city. The famous nawabs of Dhaka had built their magnificent living quarters on its banks. One of them, the Ahsan Manjil, still stands and now serves as a museum to remind people of the glorious days of the city's past. But the Buriganga at present is in a threatened state of existence. The river has been progressively dying from pollution factors and encroachments.

All kinds of excreta and filth are now thrown in huge quantities into it regularly. Its waters are unusable. Thus, the river must be saved from pollution through the adoption and implementation of abatement measures. At the heart of such measures should be stoppage of discharge of all kinds of effluents into the river without proper treatment. The natural flow of the river has been impeded by construction of all kinds of unauthorised structures on its bed. The encroachments have caused narrowing of the river and its canal like appearances at many places.

The caretaker government has had some success in driving away the encroachers. While this move needs to be welcomed wholeheartedly, only eviction will not serve any purpose if it is not followed up by concrete plans to prevent reoccupation by the encroachers. Probably a well paved circular road all the way along the banks, plus planting of trees and creation of riverside parks can be attempted by the government to consolidate the encroachment-free conditions. More significant would be completing legal arrangements and the setting up of all sorts of checks and physical barriers so that the encroachers find no opportunity for again occupying these places.