Protect What Remains of the Buriganga 

The continued construction along the Buriganga River in the capital’s Bosila, despite court directives and an official ban on riverbank construction, is an unacceptable assault on a river that belongs to the public. A recent photograph published in this newspaper shows workers building brick walls and concrete pillars beside an official boundary marker and riverside walkway. The photograph offers clear evidence of construction taking place openly within a protected area. Such construction cannot be dismissed as an innocent misunderstanding. Yet the greater question is why it is being allowed to proceed. We must ask what the responsible authorities are doing while encroachers openly occupy protected riverbank land.

The Buriganga has already paid a heavy price for years of illegal occupation, pollution and unchecked development. The authorities have conducted eviction drives, installed boundary pillars and built walkways to protect the riverbanks. However, these efforts mean little when encroachers can return and start building again. Meanwhile, government agencies responsible for protecting the river cannot simply point to previous eviction campaigns as evidence of action. Their responsibility does not end when an illegal structure is demolished. They must also ensure that the same land is not occupied again. Against this backdrop, allowing fresh construction beside an official boundary marker reflects a serious failure of oversight.

The damage is not confined to the structures being built in Bosila. Every illegal occupation takes away space from the river and makes restoration more difficult. It can also restrict natural water flow and further weaken an already damaged ecosystem. More importantly, unchecked encroachment encourages others to follow the same path. When people see illegal structures appearing without immediate intervention, they may conclude that breaking the rules carries little risk. In turn, every new encroachment weakens public trust in the laws designed to protect our rivers. The longer authorities allow this cycle to continue, the harder it becomes to restore the Buriganga.

Therefore, the government must replace occasional eviction drives with continuous enforcement. BIWTA and local authorities should divide vulnerable riverbank areas into monitoring zones and assign specific officials to inspect them regularly. They should record each inspection and report new construction immediately. Authorities should also digitally map protected boundaries and create a public hotline or online system for reporting suspected encroachment. Each complaint should receive a tracking number and a fixed response deadline. When officials detect illegal construction, they should stop the work immediately and remove the structure through due legal process. They should also investigate cases where officials ignore violations or delay action.

Ultimately, we expect the government to accept its responsibility as the custodian of the country’s rivers. Encroachers must face firm legal action, but enforcement cannot be left to chance. Nevertheless, the state cannot blame land grabbers alone when illegal construction takes place openly beside government markers. Protecting the Buriganga is a government responsibility, and failure to do so is a failure of governance. The river has already lost too much. The government must act now to protect what remains.