26pc of Dhaka’s reservoirs under threat of encroachment

Environmentalists, researchers, and experts on the issue, lawmakers, and officials from government and non-government organisations at a seminar have said that although minimum 10-15 per cent reservoirs are a must for a liveable town, the water bodies in Dhaka city are decreasing at an alarming rate.

The reservoirs are being grabbed indiscriminately. They also said it is concerning that ponds and water bodies in the city, including the DIT Pond at Gendaria in the old parts of Dhaka, are being grabbed, defying DAP and environmental laws and other laws and rules.

Bangladesh Nature Conservation Alliance (BNCA), a coalition of different environmental organisations in the country, and DIT Pond Conservation Movement of Gendaria jointly arranged the seminar titled ‘Importance of Dhaka’s Ponds and Reservoirs and Responsibility for Conservation’ at the National Press Club in the capital on Thursday.

In his keynote speech in the seminar, Mohammad Azaz, chairman of the River and Delta Research Centre (RDRC), said that at least 86 ponds and other water bodies in the rest of the reservoirs, as well as 327 ponds and water bodies, are being grabbed by government and non-government organisations and are influential.

Among them, six are being grabbed by government bodies, while 79 are being grabbed by non-government organisations, and one by both government and non-government organisations, Azaz said.

Professor Dr Ahmad Kamruzzaman Majumder, convener of BNCA and chairman of Department of Environmental Science at Stamford University; presided over the seminar, while Syed Abu Hossain Babla, lawmaker from Dhaka-4; Syeda Rizwana Hasan, chief executive of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA); Bazlur Rashid, deputy assistant director of Fire Service and Civil Defence; Suman Shams, chief coordinator of Nongar Trust; Muhmammad Anwarul Hoque, member secretary of BNCA and secretary general of Save Our Sea; and Ibnul Sayeed Rana of Nirapad Development Foundation; took part in the discussion.

Advocate Shafiqur Rahman, chairperson of Initiative for Peace (IFP); Kefaullah Chowdhury Shakil, convenor of Jatri Odhikar Andoaln (Passengers’ Rights Movement), Ibrahim Ahmed Ripon, convenor of DIT Pond Conservation Movement; Fazle Sany of Nongar; and Mostafa Bashir Uddin also spoke on the occasion.   

Stating that the ponds and other reservoirs in Dhaka city must be saved for our survival, Mohammad Azad called upon the Rajdhan Unnoyon Kortipokkya (RAJUK) to take effective initiative to save the rest of the ponds and other reservoirs in the city. 

According to laws, no water body can be filled up anyway, even the water body of an individual’s ownership. The RAJUK can issue a circular in this regard. If RAJUK becomes more vibrant, the ponds and other water bodies in Dhaka city will be saved from grabbing and disappearing. 

In her speech, Syeda Rizwana Hasan of BELA came down heavily on Rajdhani Unnoyon Kortipokkya (RAJUK) for its controversial role over ponds and reservoirs in Dhaka city.

"We have turned Dhaka city into Karbala by destroying ponds and other water bodies. RAJUK is responsible for that. The RAJUK is a massively corrupted body. The government body itself is involved in housing through filling up water bodies," Rizwana said.

sajibur@gmail.com