Green activists yesterday urged the government to implement the High Court directive over setting up river boundary pillars on the banks of four rivers surrounding the capital.
The rivers are Buriganga, Turag, Balu and Shitalakkhya.
They also demanded the eviction of pillars set up improperly while addressing a press briefing at the Dhaka Reporters Unity auditorium yesterday.
The government should implement the court directive for the sake of saving the rivers from encroachment by different quarters, said Dr Abdul Matin, general secretary of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa).
During a recent visit, the Bapa team found that most of the pillars set up on both sides of Turag in 2011 as per the court order had been partially removed while some had vanished, he added.
Sharif Jamil, convener of River Keepers Bangladesh, said: “The district administration wrongly demarcated Turag river as they only considered the water flow during the off-season while setting up the pillars, encouraging occupiers to encroach the river area.”
According to the court directive, river area is considered where water reaches during the monsoon and riverbed indicates where water lies in winter.
An additional 50 metres has to be added to the river area which will be considered the total area of the river.
The Bapa general secretary blamed the government for not taking effective action to save the country’s rivers and wetlands from encroachment and pollution.
