Government stadium grabs river land in Savar

A stream of the Bangshi River ends in the Bhagalpur area of Savar upazila, Dhaka. Here, the river takes the name Dhaleshwari, runs along Dhaka city to its east, and eventually merges with the Meghna River. A government stadium has been built, encroaching part of the river at the point where the Dhaleshwari begins. Using this mini-stadium named after Sheikh Russel, local residents are now also engaged in river grabbing. Now the river is shrinking. River experts say the Bangshi-Dhaleshwari  is already battered by pollution. With fresh encroachments by locals, the river's very existence is now threatened.

A recent visit to Bhagalpur revealed that the stadium’s name has changed. The main gate’s signage is worn out, now only reading "Mini Stadium." A one-storey concrete building within the grounds has a nameplate that says "Savar Mini Stadium." The stadium is surrounded by a perimeter wall — concrete at the base, metal mesh above.

Adjacent to the stadium, parts of the river have been filled in with waste and sand. Shops have sprung up on this newly emerged land. According to local residents, this filled-up area was the riverbank just a few years ago. During monsoon, boats used to dock there, and residents crossed the river by boat. After the stadium’s construction, people began filling in sections of the river and building structures.

Shafiqul Islam, 70, a long-time resident of Bhagalpur, said, "This place is known as Monu Mia's Ghat. Since childhood, I saw the river reach up to where the stadium now stands. Based on the river’s original course, the stadium itself is within the river area. The structures along the bank have been built on government land."

Prothom Alo collected documents related to the Sheikh Russel Mini Stadium project in Savar from the Savar Upazila Project Implementation Officer's office and the Upazila Land Office. An analysis of the documents revealed that construction of Sheikh Russel Mini Stadium began on 15 April, 2019, on what was officially registered as Khas land in Dakshin Dariarpur Mouza (Khatian No. 1, SA 246, RS 38). While records indicated only 2 acres and 6 decimals of khas land existed in this plot, the stadium was built on 3 acres, with the additional 94 decimals encroaching into the Dhaleshwari River.

According to the CS (Cadastral Survey) record, the location of the stadium in the Dakshin Dariarpur Mouza map is part of the Dhaleshwari river, as per sources at the Upazila Land Office. Notably, the CS record is the first land-related survey of the Indian subcontinent.

River researcher and Riverine People's Secretary General Sheikh Rokon told Prothom Alo that the legal status of river land is unambiguous: any land designated as river in the Cadastral Survey (CS) documents must legally remain river land. According to Rokon, no entity—whether governmental, private, or individual—has any legal right to occupy these areas.

This position is reinforced by the High Court's landmark verdict on 1 July in 2019 that legally recognised Bangladesh's rivers as living entities. This pivotal ruling established that under the Constitution, all water bodies—including seas, rivers, canals, wetlands, harbors, lakes, seashores, and riverbanks—along with natural resources, biodiversity, forests, hills, and air constitute a public trust. These resources belong collectively to all Bangladeshi citizens, with the government serving only as a trustee obligated to protect them rather than as an owner with rights to allocate or repurpose them.

Local citizens allege that former State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief, Enamur Rahman, pushed the project forward by appropriating river land to curry favor with former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, though such stadiums typically fall under the Ministry of Youth and Sports and National Sports Council jurisdiction.

But the project was implemented through the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief's project committee. The ministry allocated Tk 4,037,500 and 250 metric tons of rice through KABITA (Cash for Work) and KABIKHA (Food for Work) programs for construction, which was completed on 26 June in 2023.

Savar Upazila Project Implementation Officer Md Faizul Islam confirmed Prothom Alo that beyond these allocations, the National Sports Council was directly involved in constructing the stadium's wash block, a room, and several other infrastructure components at a cost of an additional Tk 4,100,000.

Bhagalpur resident Md Riaz Uddin provided eyewitness testimony of the encroachment.

"The stadium has been built extending quite far into the river from the bank. Before construction, I crossed the river by boat from that spot during monsoon season. Now, the river is gradually being encroached upon. I request the administration to free the river from encroachment quickly," he added.

Officials from the Savar Upazila Land Office revealed that in April 2022, the Ministry of Land requested crucial documentation from the Dhaka District Commissioner regarding the proposed long-term lease of 2 acres and 6 decimals of Khas land for the Sheikh Russel Mini Stadium. The ministry specifically requested attested copies of the Khatian (CS, SA), a detailed report on the land's recorded versus actual classification, administrative approval from the relevant ministry, and financial certification before considering the allocation proposal.

While the Savar Upazila Land Office initiated these procedural requirements, Savar Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) Zahirul Alam confirmed to Prothom Alo that the allocation was never officially completed. According to Zahirul, documents indicate that the location originally contained 3 acres of Khas land, but after allocations for roads and other government purposes, only 2 acres and 6 decimals remained available. The Ministry of Youth and Sports proposed using this remaining land for the stadium in 2022.

Despite the Ministry of Land's subsequent information request, no further administrative steps was taken, effectively stalling the formal land allocation process. Nevertheless, construction proceeded and was completed on 3 acres at the site through collaborative efforts between the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief. Alam acknowledged that while 2 acres and 6 decimals of this land were legitimately khas land, the additional portion used for the stadium was Sikosti (riverbank land).

Just south of the stadium, four sand yards now stretch inland from the Dhaleshwari riverbank. Local residents said these yards have been established by encroaching onto river land. Adjacent to the stadium lies the Thana Ghat area. In 2022, the upazila administration demolished several illegal structures here that had been built by grabbing land from the Bangshi River. However, they did not remove the filled soil, leaving the encroached areas intact.

That same year, the administration also evicted more than 300 illegal structures, including shops, from the Namabazar area of Savar — many of them built on the river. Despite these efforts, new tin-shed and semi-pucca structures have recently sprung up in the same location. Meanwhile, several sand yards have also appeared along the Bangshi River in the Nayarhat area of Savar upazila.

Barkat Ullah, owner of Emu Enterprise sand yard in Bhagalpur, told Prothom Alo, "We have been doing business at this sand ghat on the riverbank for nearly 40 years. Our operations are based on a lease from the municipality."

Commenting on the illegal structures, Savar Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) and Savar Municipality Administrator, Md. Abubaker Sarkar, told Prothom Alo, "The upazila administration is carrying out its responsibilities properly. Protecting the river from encroachment and pollution requires coordinated action from BIWTA, the Department of Environment (DoE), RAJUK, and other authorities. Our eviction drives are ongoing, and we will continue taking action as per court directives. If sand yards or any structures are found encroaching on the river, we will take the necessary steps."

On December 5, 2023, the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the High Court to protect the Bangshi River. Following the initial hearing, on January 2, 2024, the High Court ordered six top government officials to submit a full report listing all polluters and encroachers of the Bangshi River within three months. The officials included the Chairman of the National River Conservation Commission, the Directors General of the Department of Environment and the Bangladesh Water Development Board, the Dhaka Deputy Commissioner, the Savar Upazila Nirbahi Officer, and the Deputy Director of the Department of Environment's Dhaka district office.

Additionally, the court directed the Administrator of Savar Municipality and the Executive Director of the Dhaka Export Processing Zone to immediately halt the dumping of municipal and industrial waste into the river.

The court also issued a rule asking why the Bangshi River should not be declared an Ecologically Critical Area (ECA) under Section 5 of the Environment Conservation Act and placed under appropriate management.

However, more than a year later, no significant progress has been made. Instead, river encroachment appears to be increasing daily. On September 22, 2024, BELA sent reminder letters to 12 relevant government departments, highlighting the lack of action. The letters noted that despite the court’s order to stop the construction of the Sheikh Russel Mini Stadium by encroaching on the river at Monu Mia's Ghat in Bhagalpur and to end the dumping of waste, inspections showed continued dumping at multiple points along the river. BELA also reported that the responsible authorities had not submitted their reports to the court, delaying further hearings.

Taslima Islam, Acting Chief Executive of BELA, told Prothom Alo, "There are still no visible steps to implement the court's directives. If this continues, the Bangshi and Dhaleshwari rivers will soon cease to exist."

The National River Conservation Commission reported to the High Court last June that approximately 850 illegal structures occupy 39.54 acres along the Bangshi River in Savar's Namabazar area, based on CS record surveys.
When questioned about enforcement actions, Commission Chairman Md. Abul Islam admitted, "I work at the River Conservation Commission in an additional capacity and was unaware of this issue. I will investigate and take appropriate action."

Muhammad Shamsul Haque, General Secretary of the River and Environment Development Council in Savar, revealed that officials ignored repeated requests to relocate the Sheikh Russel Stadium to higher ground elsewhere in Savar. "We clearly identified this as river land and specifically appealed to the DC, UNO, and AC Land officials, but construction proceeded on the riverbank anyway," he told Prothom Alo.

Haque further noted that river encroachment has become widespread, with factories, buildings, and shops illegally occupying banks of the Dhaleshwari and Bangshi rivers, as well as canals and wetlands throughout Savar. Despite previous eviction operations in Savar Bazar and Nayarhat, portions of cleared areas in Savar Bazar have been reoccupied under rehabilitation pretexts. "If this trend continues," Haque warned, "the river will cease to exist."