Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) during a drive on Wednesday demolished a total of 119 structures illegally set up on the banks of the River Buriganga in the capital.
Of the demolished structures, one was two-storey building, seven one-storey buildings, 15 semi paucca buildings, 65 tin-shed houses and 31 makeshift shops.
The drive covered Badamtali, Sadarghat, Syambazar and Shashanghat areas of the capital.
The authority also reclaimed 1.5 acres of land from the possession of grabbers during the drive and realised Tk 1.5 million in fine.
The BIWTA, which is under the Ministry of Shipping (MoS), following instructions of the government carried out the first phase of drive from January 29 to February 20.
After a short break, it restarted the drive from the current month to remove illegal structures along the banks of the Buriganga.
So far, during the ongoing drive, it knocked down over 1,900 illegal structures and reclaimed around 40 acres of land from the banks of the Buriganga and Turag rivers during the period.
The rivers Buriganga, Turag, Balu and Shitalakshya are called the lifelines of the capital.
But grabbing, pollution, dredging and erosion have kept the existence of the rivers at stake.
BIWTA will construct 110-kilometre walkways on the recovered lands of the Buriganga and Turag.
The MoS has taken a number of projects to give new lease of life to the country's several rivers whose existence is at risk.
Of them, 12 projects are going on to dredge 8,000 kilometre waterways of 178 rivers.
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