The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) has launched a two-day eviction drive to remove illegal structures from the banks of the Buriganga River in Dhaka’s Keraniganj. On the first day of the operation, authorities demolished a riverside bungalow illegally built by former State Minister for Energy and Power Nasrul Hamid, recovering nearly 1.5 acres of occupied land.
The drive, carried out on Wednesday morning in Kautail area of Konda Union under South Keraniganj, also saw the demolition of three two-story buildings of the bungalow complex, along with a 200-foot boundary wall of a dockyard built on the riverbank.
Mostafizur Rahman, Joint Director of Dhaka River Port (BIWTA), said the government has already installed pillars demarcating 80 kilometres of river boundaries around Dhaka’s Buriganga, Shitalakkhya, Turag, and Balu rivers.
Eviction drives to free these riverbanks began in 2009 but were halted after August 5 last year due to various obstacles. The operation has now resumed on directives from higher authorities to restore the natural flow of the Buriganga.
“No illegal occupier, no matter how influential, will be spared,” Rahman said, adding that the eviction campaign will continue Thursday in Kautail and Dhaleshwar to clear all illegal structures along the river.
The drive was conducted with the participation of Sheikh Abdullah Al Mamun, Assistant Commissioner (Land) of South Keraniganj Revenue Circle; Abu Saleh Ehtesham, Deputy Director of Dhaka River Port; Nur Hossain, Deputy Director of Bhairab River Port; and Rezaul Karim, Deputy Director of Meghna River Port.
