Saving rivers from erosion

Dredging on waterways is required to ensure navigability while sand collection is also necessary for infrastructural development. But, unplanned sand extraction and whimsical river excavation have been posing serious threat to biodiversity and causing river erosion in different parts of the country. A set of definite instructions and an accurate mapping must be prepared to determine from which part of the river sand can be extracted.
As several ministries are linked to the issue, so an inter-ministerial authority should have a comprehensive action plan on indiscriminate sand extraction and unplanned river exaction in a bid to save rivers from erosion. The respective authorities should take required measures to conduct a survey for Balu Mahal (sand extraction zone) and fix the quantity of sand that can be extracted. In this connection, only tender-based listed contractors have to be allowed to extract sand on a limited scale as per fixation based on survey.
Some local musclemen often control Balu Mahal illegally. The authorities should ensure none other than the assigned contractors are able to extract sand. Proper initiative, coordinated effort and a unified system are highly expected from the authorities concerned with so as to end indiscriminate sand extraction and saving the rivers from erosion.
Wares Ali Khan,
Sadar, Narsingdi
[email protected]