Move underway to relocate riverside religious structures

The government has taken a move to relocate religious structures and educational institutions to new areas from the banks of the rivers around the capital city under its ongoing beautification project, an official said.
The structures including mosques, graveyards, crematories and schools built on the banks of the rivers Buriganga, Turag, Sitalakhya and Balu have been hindering the development work of the project, he added.
Over 120 structures such as mosques, crematories and schools etc have been built on the banks of these rivers, according to the Ministry of Shipping (MoS).
The rivers are considered the 'lifeline' for city dwellers.
Also, the rivers are contributing a lot to the economic activities like transportation of goods at cheaper rates compared to other modes of transport.
But navigability of the rivers is decreasing due to encroachment and pollution, putting the lives and livelihood and biodiversity at risk, according to sector insiders and environmentalists. Besides, illegally-built structures are hampering the ongoing riverbank development project.
Earlier, the government started to evict illegal occupants from the banks of the rivers since January last following the directives issued by the Prime Minister's Office.
The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) demolished over 18,000 illegal structures built on the banks of the rivers and reclaimed 659 acres of lands (riverbanks) from illegal occupants during the period between 2010 and 2019.
A joint secretary of the MoS told the FE on Monday that they are seriously considering starting the process of relocating religious buildings and structures soon to expedite the implementation of the ongoing beautification project.
The beautification project was launched this year at an initial cost of Tk 8.5 billion.
However, MoS has sent a proposal recently to the Ministry of Planning, seeking its approval for an increased allocation of around Tk 23 billion, the shipping ministry official further said.
Beautification works include setting up of boundary pillars, and building walkways on the banks of the rivers, concrete benches and parks, and jetties.
He further said a meeting will be held today (Tuesday) at the BIWTA office for fixing the date of relocating religious structures to new areas from the riverbanks.
State minister for shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury will be present at the meeting. BIWTA officials, deputy commissioners of Dhaka, Narayanganj and Gazipur, director general of Islamic Foundation and representatives of local government are also expected to attend the meeting.
A BIWTA official hinted that they will start the relocation process either at the end of the current month or early January next year.

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