Dockyard on Buriganga: Are the owners more powerful than govt

Right when Sadeeq Agro Farm that had been set up by grabbing lands of a canal and street right in the centre of Dhaka on this side of the Buriganga river is being evicted, news of 27 dockyards being built in South Keraniganj, on the other bank of Buriganga came up in the media.

Naturally the question arises, will this game of occupation and eviction keep going on like this centering the Buriganga?

According to a Prothom Alo report, the Shubhadhya canal meets with Buriganga river at the Apish field area in Par Gandaria of South Keraniganj in Dhaka. A total of 27 dockyards have been established on the 1.5 kms stretch between this canal and shoal along the bank of the river up till Telghat in Kaliganj.

Members of parliament, Union Parishad chairman and local influential Awami League leaders are there on the list of people owning these dockyards. Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) officials say that they cannot remove any of the dockyards as powerful people are the owners of those.

A visit to the area revealed that a cold storage had been established on the Buriganga banks in the Apish field area. From this cold storage, along Char Khejurbagh up till Telghat, these dockyards have been set up on the land of the Shubhadhya canal and the river.

As a result, the width of the river has narrowed from the Apish grounds to Telghat. And the river water is being polluted from the burnt oil.

Member of Parliament from Barishal-3, Golam Kibria claims his two dockyards have been built on privately owned property. However, the BIWTA director (additional duty) AKM Arif Uddin told Prothom Alo that the dockyards at Shubhadhya had been established illegally.

Even if it is privately owned property, establishments that will pollute the environment cannot be built there. If that establishment is polluting the river and the environment has to be considered. After all, the wastage, garbage and burnet oil from those 27 dockyards set up along the bank of Buriganga are being dumped in the river only.

In September 2020, during a meeting with BIWTA, state minister for shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury had said that he had issued orders for all dockyards to remove from Keraniganj. That directive not being implemented even after 3.5 years is unfortunate.

There’s a need of dockyards for building and repairing ships. But why does it have to be built by destroying the Buriganga river, known as the driving force of capital Dhaka?

A number of factories and establishments had been built already on the banks of Buriganga to destroy the river. Though BIWTA conducted eviction drives sometimes there has been no improvements to the situation. The influential people set up the evicted establishments again within just a few days.

The government had easily demolished a building of a primary school, constructed along the river at the pillar no. 9 and 10 of Buriganga in Char Mirerbagh area back in 2019.

However, no action has been taken about Cumilla Dockyard that has been established between pillar no. 11 and 12. This proves that the owners of the dockyards are even more powerful than the government.

Chief executive of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) Rizwana Hasan mentioned that there is no alternative to evicting these establishments for saving the river and demanded the river be free of grabbing within the shortest time possible.

Prothom Alo report also mentioned that a government project to relocate the dockyards is under implementation. The government had taken up a lot of projects before to save Dhaka city and Buriganga river. But, either those projects aren’t implemented at all or doesn’t protect the river even if they are implemented.

If the government really wants to save Buriganga, they should immediately evict all the illegal establishments on both banks of the river. And if they continue giving up before the influential people, there won’t be even a trace of Buriganga that is already in a critical condition.