Lawmakers pledge to save rivers

Speaker and members of parliament (MPs) yesterday made strong commitments to take every measure necessary to stop illegal grabbing and pollution of the rivers flowing through the country including those around the capital.

They said the rivers are the lifelines of the country's economy, agriculture and livelihoods and any delay or negligence to save them would have disastrous consequences like shortage of both drinking and farm water and subsidence of soil in the city.

The pledges came at the inaugural function of a programme titled "To the Prime Minister: Save rivers, save Dhaka", a joint initiative of The Daily Star and Channel i held at the South Plaza of the National Parliament. The programme was live telecast by the television channel.

Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury and heads of the parliamentary standing committees on the Ministries of Land, Water Resources and Environment said they have already taken initiatives to evict land grabbers on the rivers and find ways to check dumping industrial wastes into the rivers around the capital.

"We must save our rivers, which have been seriously polluted and partly grabbed. Influential people whoever they are cannot be any barrier to the justified demands of common people," said Speaker of the Parliament Abdul Hamid, who addressed the function as chief guest.

"I will take measure to pass the law as soon as the parliamentarians frame it."

"We shall do everything we can to save the soil and rivers of the country," Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury said.

She mentioned that the prime minister at a cabinet meeting clearly said no road should be constructed by destroying any arable land. If necessary, soil for road should be taken from the rivers, Matia said.

Stating that the influential people time and again stand in the way to restore the water bodies, including the canals in the capital, the agriculture minister said, "The BGMEA building, which is located in the Hatirjheel project area, is still there and maybe will remain there."

She said the then Awami League government started re-excavating the river Gorai but BNP-Jamaat alliance government after coming to power did not grant money for the next stage of re-excavation.

"The Gorai again got its old dry face causing more salinity in the southern districts and creating obstacles to cultivation during dry season," she said. However, the government again took initiative to re-excavate the Gorai, she added.

Abdur Razzak, chairman of the standing committee on the Ministry of Water Resources, said it is not the absence of laws, but the negligence in their application that has almost killed the rivers surrounding the capital city.

Saying that Dhaka may face the fate of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa because of its haphazard developments, Razzak said stringent laws should be made against the river grabbers and polluters.

AKM Mozammel Huq, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the Ministry of Land, said the government has decided to restore the 13 canals of Dhaka and will launch eviction drive against land grabbers in Gazipur today.

"We shall demarcate the areas of the rivers as per the maps and evict the grabbers whoever they are and however much influential they may be," he said, clarifying the point that it is the land ministry, which owns the rivers and there is no controversy about it.

"In three months I hope we can come to a level that countrymen will be satisfied," Mozammel Haque said, adding that the ministries of land and environment will hold a meeting today to find ways to make the rivers free of pollution.

Abdul Momin Talukder, chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Environment, said Dhaka is becoming uninhabitable due to setting up of unplanned industries and other structures while water pollution has become a serious public concern.

Besides, rivers outside the capital are also getting polluted and filled up making irrigation difficult in many areas, Talukder said, adding that a parliamentary sub-committee led by lawmaker Saber Hossain Chowdhury has already been formed to find out ways to make rivers pollution- and encroachment-free.

"We will not be able to breathe fresh air after a decade if we do not take initiatives immediately to save the rivers and the city," he said.

Saber Hossain Chowdhury, head of the parliamentary sub-committee on the Ministry of Environment, said strong legal framework is imperative to protecting the rivers but more important than that is people's involvement in this initiative.

The sub-committee will examine the river pollution and encroachment issues and will submit a report soon recommending measures to save rivers.

Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) President Annisul Huq said textile and readymade garment industries contribute only 25 to 30 percent pollution of the rivers.

"But, we do not ignore it," he said, adding that Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) have recently agreed not to confront environmentalists rather solve every problem through dialogues.

"Putting blame on us will not do," he said, noting that the government has to have positive contribution. "We shall be with you like friends. We fully agree to this initiative."

The Daily Star Editor and Publisher Mahfuz Anam in his welcome address said Dhaka is one of the best cities of the world where rivers flow all around but every one of them is about to die.

He said, "Water is life but when we pollute it and destroy rivers, how can we say that we are building the country?"

He said water pollution in the rivers around the city is so high that no life form can survive there.

Chemical waste is polluting the river water to such an extent that it is difficult to treat, he said, adding that continuation of such pollution will bring about a serious water problem.

Underground water table is also depleting fast and if it continues, there will be no underground water left for drinking. It may also cause subsidence of parts of the capital, he warned.

"But, we are allowing these rivers to turn into canals by allowing encroachers to grab their land. The country cannot develop when public life is threatened," he said.

He said dying and textile industries and tanneries mostly pollute water. "They contribute to our economies but it should not be at the cost of our rivers."

But when the problem is too acute, it appears that there is no proper authority to save the rivers from encroachment or pollution, Mahfuz Anam said. He suggested formation of a river commission or authority fully responsible for looking after rivers.

Channel i Head of News Shykh Seraj said there were 700 rivers in the country but now only 250 are surviving. Rivers were livelihoods of millions but now, with gradual drying up of them, the country's agriculture and fish resources are threatened, he noted.

He said Channel i and The Daily Star will continue to work to save the rivers through various programmes and hoped that the people of the country will join the great cause.

Noted singers Runa Laila and Andrew Kishore led the title song while Padatik Natya Sangsad performed a pantomime depicting the state of the Dhaka rivers in the past and now.

The Daily Star photo exhibition on pollution and encroachment of rivers was also inaugurated there.