It is truly a matter of shame that, as a nation that prides itself for its riverine makeup, Bangladesh has utterly failed to protect its rivers from the dangers of encroachment. The establishments lining the banks of the River Bakkhali in Cox’s Bazar are just the newest in this illegal practice.
In the past, the government had announced several initiatives where it hd sought to clean up our rivers, but there have yet to be any concrete strategies announced to tackle the issue of river encroachment -- an issue which has existed for so long that it has become tantamount to the norm, a crime that we are all expected to simply accept.
This is unacceptable and will remain so until the day this practice is put to an end.
Too many of our rivers are already beyond saving in terms of the damage that has been dealt to them, which is why it is all the more imperative that the administration takes every possible step to ward off encroachers. There should be nothing contentious in claiming that grabbing of rivers must be stopped, and that polluters must be punished under the fullest extent of the law, but given that illegal structures are still being built around rivers, such as Bakkhali, there is clearly there is something holding back the government in getting tough on encroachers.
Whatever existing laws we have regarding the protection of our rivers need to be enforced, and if the encroachers are associated with vested quarters the government needs to bring them to book and make an example of these bad actors. We cannot keep compromising our national interests for the greed of a few.
Our rivers are the veritable lifeblood of our nation, we need to make sure their health and integrity are maintained.