BIWTA allows construction on Shitalakhya

The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) has given permission to construct commercial buildings on the banks of river Shitalakhya in Narayanganj, flouting the directives of the High Court.

The court in a 2009 directive barred any new constructions within 150 meters of the river bank.

But several business structures have been erected in five kilometres of the riverside.

BIWTA has given permission to use seven acres of land in the area to Karnaphuli Shipbuilders Limited even before any lease agreement is signed with the district administration. They are now building ships in the site in full swing despite the High Court directives.

A land office has been constructed on the other side of river bank. Moreover, commercial activities like selling bricks and sand are found everywhere along the river bank.

At the site of Karnaphuli shipbuilders’ dockyard in Madanganj, chemical is mixing with the river water.

An official of the shipbuilders present at the scene said, along with the seven acres in the river bank, they are building ships in at least another 33 acres of land.

Some local residents allege that, earlier BIWTA permitted two small ship builders,‘Alia’ and ‘Allahr Dan’, to use the same land. But they were evicted in the name of the court order.

Asked about why Karnaphuli Shipbuilders was allowed to construct there, BIWTA’s joint director of Narayanganj port (bandar) said that he does not know as he had been transferred here after the approval was given.

He also said they will look into if there is any discrepancy.

According to the rules, this kind of dockyard cannot be initiated until as the agreement is signed with district administration. But no agreement was signed as of last month.

Chairman of Karnaphuli Shipbuilders Limited Abdur Rashid said arrangements to sign the agreement including the deposit of around Tk 131 million has already been completed.

The formalities of district authorities have taken some time, he added.

Asked about why they started the construction before the agreement was signed, Abdur Rashid said, "According to the rules, first you have to take possession of the government land then comes the lease."

He also claimed that the dockyard does not include the river bank. We have taken the approval of BIWTA to build our dockyard in river bank, he added.

*This report, originally published in Prothom Alo print edition, has been rewritten in English by Galib Ashraf.