The government has formed a body tasked with recommending relocation or eviction of 30 establishments of religious and religion-based institutions on banks of the rivers in and around Dhaka city.
The 17-member committee is headed by the Shipping Ministry’s Additional Secretary Nasir Arif Mahmud.
Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan yesterday held a meeting with the leaders of the religious communities and authorities concerned.
“According to a primary survey, 30 establishments have been illegally built on the banks of different rivers in Dhaka which include 20 mosques, eight madrassas and other religion-based education centres and two temples,” the minister told reporters after the meeting.
“Of these structures, some were built from a genuine sense of responsibility towards people’s religious sentiments, but the others were put up to sever individual vested interests.
“The committee has been asked to verify the rationale behind building each of these establishments. Based on the committee’s report, the authorities will relocate some of these structures and evict others.
“The committee has been given a month to submit its report to the ministry,” the minister said.
The Dhaka Tribune has learned that the ministry has representation from the Water Resources, Land, Public Works and Religious Affairs Ministries; the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA); marine police, the Hindu Religious Welfare Trust; and the Islamic Foundation.
The primary survey the Shipping Ministry is talking about actually refers to a bunch of surveys conducted by a number of other ministries and agencies. This includes the largest ever survey conducted by the Land Ministry whose report was submitted in August last year.
The Land Ministry report found out several illegal establishments: a mosque on the banks of Balu River in the Eusufganj area of Narayanganj, a graveyard and madrasa on the banks of Turag River in Harirampur area of Dhaka, and a mosque in the Jahurabad area.
According to a Shipping Ministry survey, three mosques were built at Hazaribagh of Dhaka without authorisation near the original channel of the Buriganga River.
Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan yesterday said: “We have taken initiatives to free the banks of the rivers in Dhaka from encroachment to improve sustainability of the water sources. Under this initiative, we will evict all kinds of illegal establishments.”
In the past, based on its report, the Shipping Ministry evicted a total of 4,740 illegal establishments from the banks of these rivers. But no religious establishments were removed at that time.
