Shyamasundari: BELA for saving Rangpur canal

The Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) has issued a legal notice to 13 high-ranking officials of different government organisations, urging immediate action to save Shyamasundari canal in Rangpur from pollution and grabbing.

Tanmay Sanyal, regional coordinator (Rajshahi and Rangpur) of BELA, confirmed the matter.

The four-page notice, signed by BELA lawyer S Hasanul Banna and sent yesterday via postal mail, was addressed to: secretaries to the ministries of water resources, land, environment and climate change, and fisheries and livestock; chairman of the National River Protection Commission; directors general of the Department of Environment and the Bangladesh Water Development Board; deputy commissioner of Rangpur; superintendent of police of Rangpur; administrator of Rangpur City Corporation; and upazila nirbahi officer of Rangpur Sadar.

The 16-kilometre-long Shyamasundari canal originates in Kellaband area and flows through Rangpur city till Mahiganj (Rail Bridge). According to the Cadastral Survey (CS) records, the canal spans 41.39 acres across its both sides.

The canal, once vital for waterlogging management during monsoon, as well as for livelihood of around 5,000 local fishermen, now faces significant threats due to land grabbing and severe pollution, the notice said.

It highlighted how waste dumping, including by the RCC itself, and illegal grabbing, have turned the canal narrow, disrupted its water flow, and left it choking with wastes, polythene bags and other pollutants, according to a survey by BELA officials.

Although a list of 117 grabbers of the canal was previously compiled, no substantial action has yet been taken to reclaim it from them, according to the notice.

Echoing local residents' repeated urge to save Shyamasundari canal from the brink of ecological collapse, BELA, in the legal notice, demanded the authorities concerned to take prompt and effective measures for its rejuvenation to original state, eviction of its land grabbers, and an end to its pollution.

The addressed officials are to inform BELA within seven days about the measures taken to address these issues, it added.