MPs, politicians, businesses major grabbers

Lawmakers, leaders of political parties and organisations and businesspersons, including realtors, are major encroachers of the rivers and flood flow zones surrounding Dhaka city. 
Ruling Awami League lawmakers Nasrul Hamid for Dhaka 3, Md Aslamul Haque for Dhaka 14 and Haji Mohammad Selim for Dhaka 7 and Jatiaya Party lawmaker Golam Kibria Tipu for Barishal 3 developed orchards, power plants, business enterprises and dockyards encroaching on the Buriganga and Turag rivers, said local people, environmentalists and Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority officials. 
They said that Dhaka South City AL president Abul Hasnath, Sramik League central leader Kawsar Ahmed Palash, Fatullah thana AL leader M Saifullah Badal encroached on the Buriganga for business enterprises.
Reports of different agencies on encroachment on Dhaka rivers said that business enterprises like Bashundhara Group, Jamuna Group, Akiz Group, Partex Group, Pran-RFL Group, Crown Cement, City Group, Heidelberg Cement Bangladesh Ltd, Ha-Meem Group, Molla Salt Industries Ltd, CEMEX Cement Bangladesh and several private universities and hospitals grabbed the Buriganga, Turag, Sitalakhya and Balu rivers.
The High Court on February 3 disqualified grabbers of rivers, canals and wetlands from local and parliamentary elections and bank loans and asked the government to make a list of river grabbers and make it public.
Although lands within 50 yards of both the edges belonged to the river concerned, political leaders, businesspersons and other influential people choked the rivers filling up the river beds, said Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority joint director and also Dhaka port officer AKM Arif Uddin. 
Bribing Public Works Department officials, influential people got river demarcation pillars placed inside shores to grab river lands, said Arif.
A judicial inquiry conducted in 2017 following a High Court order found that river demarcation pillars were placed inside Turag shores at 30 places.
Bangladesh Paribesh Andolan joint secretary Sharif Jamil said that Nasrul Hamid’s orchard at Dhaleswar of Keraniganj obstructed the flow of the Buriganga and it must be removed as per the Water Act 2013. 
Nasrul Hamid claimed that his orchard was very much outside the demarcation pillars and not developed encroaching on the river. 
At Mirerbagh of Keraniganj Jatiya Party lawmaker Golam Kibria Tipu, Dhaka south city AL president Abul Hasnath and 31 others developed dockyards encroaching on the Buriganga.
At Washpur of Kernaganj, AL lawmaker Aslamul Haque grabbed the Turag for installing three power plants — CLC Power Company Limited, Dhaka North Power Utility Company Limited and Dhaka West Power Limited.
Environmentalists continued protesting since the inception of the projects in 2011 claiming it encroached on confluence of the Turag and Buriganga rivers and drastically damaged the two river systems while Aslamul said that he had obtained permission from the water transport authority and clearance from the Department of Environment for the using the river port for the installation of the power plants.
The water transport authority and the Bangladesh Water Development Board in their ongoing eviction drive demolished several structures constructed reportedly by Haji Mohammad Selim for his business enterprises, including Madina Trading Corporation and Madina Trading, at Hasnabad of Kamrangir Char encroaching on the Buriganga and its old channel.
Jatiya Sramaik League workers welfare secretary Kawsar Ahmed Palash filled up the Buriganga at Fatullah for loading goods on trucks while Fatullah Thana Chhatra League president Abu Mohammad Shariful Haque and Fatullah thana AL president M Saifullah Badal grabbed the Buriganga for a weekly market, local people said.
Kawsar said that the truck stand was developed by some Latif Mahajan. ‘My name is used everywhere but I am not involved in such trade,’ he said.
Shariful and Saifullah said that they had no involvement in any weekly market at Fatullah.
The water transport authority in 2018 prepared a list of over 900 grabbers of the Buriganga, Turag and the Balu rivers. 
According to the list grabbers of Buriganga and Turag include Ha-Meem Group, Navana Group, Akiz Group, Partex Group, Anwar Group Private Limited, Olympic Cement Limited, Easy Food Factory, Eastern Ship Builders, Amin-Momin Housing, Basila Housing, Silicon City, Western Housing, Karim Group, IUBT University, Dhaka Central Int’l Medical Collage, and Enam Textile Ltd. 
Former union parishad chairman M Hashem Ali grabbed the Turag at Harirampur another former UP chairman Hashem grabbed the river at Bhatulia, the list showed.
Demra University College, Demra Union Parishad, Crown Cement Readymix and Pran-RFL Group were on the list of grabbers of the Balu River.
The National River Conservation Commission in a recent report recommended that the Narayanganj district administration should punish Shah Cement, Crown Cement and Bashundhar Cement for encroaching on the Sitalakhya.
Jetties illegally built on channels of the Sitalakhya and the Buriganga by City Sugar Industries Ltd, Heidelberg Cement Bangladesh Ltd, Molla Salt Industries Ltd and CEMEX Cement Bangladesh Ltd still stand on the channels flouting an Appellate Division verdict.
A judicial inquiry committee led by Gazipur chief judicial magistrate Mohammad Assams Jaglul Hossain in its report on illegal structures on the Turag River in Gazipur submitted to the High Court in 2017 identified 30 individuals and companies who grabbed 17km stretch of the river.
The 30 encroachers included AnonTex Group, proposed University of Dr Faras Uddin, Cordod Land Developer and Captain Zakir Hossain, Protyasha Housing, Gazipur City Corporation, Truck, Covered Van Drivers Union, Central Medical College, Yunus Member, Ananda Group, Ha-Meem Group and Anwar Group.
In 2014, river saving task force-formed probe committee led by land ministry joint secretary M Rafiul Alam identified Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha’s Purbachal Project, Gazipur City Corporation, Bashundhara Residential Area, Bangladesh Army housing scheme Jolsiri, Tisha Group, Binimoy Properties, Uttara City, Global City, Gazirup Momin Housing Company and Divine Group choked the Turag and Balu. 
The report also accused Public Works Department, water transport authority and Gazipur district administration of installing the river demarcation pillars inside the shore giving advantages to the grabbers.
Rajuk officials in an ongoing study for a proposed development project found that 14 realtors, including Jamuna Group, Amin Mohammad Group and Biswas Builders, were filling up the Turag from Amin Bazar to Tongi, said project director of Rajuk detailed area plan project Md Ashraful Islam.
Jatiaya Party lawmaker Golam Kibria Tipu said on February 19 that he officially told the Dhaka deputy commissioner that 50 decimal in front of his dockyard belonged to the government.
‘I’ve not made any structure on the land but use it as passage for my dockyard,’ he said.
Another dockyard owner Abul Hasnath said the government might evict him if wanted.
National River Conservation Commission chairman Muzibur Rahman Howlader expressed determination to punish all river grabbers.
‘Law is equal for all and it will be executed,’ he said. 
Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association chief executive Syeda Rizwana Hasan said that lawmakers should vacate their seat if it was proved that they grabbed land of the rivers.

News Courtesy: www,.newagebd.net