More than 49,162 illegal river occupants were identified in 64 districts, most in Cumilla
Adnan Mahfuz Tazvir (class VIII – English version,
Motijheel Ideal school and college, Dhaka.)
Unscrupulous peoples have set up mills and factories throughout the country by illegally occupying rivers. For these reasons, as the rivers are getting smaller, the liquid waste of these factories situated along the river is polluting the river water by mixing with it.
In this way, the river water has become poisonous, which is causing the aquatic animal’s death and also damaging the river’s ecosystem.
In the 64 districts of the country, forty-nine thousand one hundred and sixty-two people have been identified as illegal river occupants. Of these, the highest number of illegal river occupants is in the Cumilla district. The number of illicit river occupants in that district is five thousand nine hundred and six people.
Mr. Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, Minister of State for Shipping, presented this information about the river occupants to the National Assembly last Thursday (24 January 2020). He said that all the district administrators had prepared the list of illegal occupants of the rivers.
The prepared list has been uploaded to the website of the National River Conservation Commission as well as the respective District Information Portal keeping open to the public. All the information on 49,162 illegal occupants throughout the country has recorded in detail on that list.
He also said that the activities of the evacuation of the illegal river occupants are in the process. All the district administrators have been directed to carry out operations to evacuate the illicit occupants through the crash program as per the list prepared. Already, evacuation activities have started in some districts.
By an evacuation operation conducted from 18 to 24 December 2019, a total of 1027 illegal establishments were evacuated from the river ports of Dhaka and Narayanganj and 21.5 acres of land were recovered.
According to the information delivered at National Assembly by the State Minister, the number of river occupants in the Chittagong district, which is second after Cumilla, is four thousand seven hundred and four people.
And in Noakhali, which is in the third position, there are four thousand four hundred and ninety-nine people. Besides, the number of illegal river occupiers in the top Eight districts are:
- Kushtia (three thousand one hundred and thirty-four).
- Barishal (two thousand two hundred and seventy-two).
- Mymensingh (two thousand one hundred and sixty).
- Faridpur (One thousand eight hundred and forty-three).
- Borguna (one thousand five hundred and fifty-four).
- Natore (one thousand five hundred and forty-one).
- Gopalgonj (one thousand three hundred and ninety-nine).
- And Lalmonirhat district has the least illegal river occupants who are only thirteen.
