Permanent concrete structures being constructed by encroaching parts of Gulatola canal and dumping of solid wastes is putting the final nails in the coffin of the waterbody.
HC issues status quo on encroachment, operation of brick kilns in Bhadra, Hori rivers
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The High Court has issued a status quo for three months on encroachment, land grabbing, earth filling and operating brick kilns on Bhadra and Hori rivers in Khulna s Dumuria upazila.
In response to a writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB), the court yesterday ordered the authorities concerned of the government to submit a report after complying with the directive.
The writ petitioner said the lawmaker from Khulna-5 constituency (Dumuria-Phultola) and former Fisheries and Livestock Minister Narayan Chandra Chanda, Dumuria upazila Chairman Ajaz Ahmed, local union parishad Chairman Humayun Kabir Bulu and many others are reportedly involved with the encroachment, land grabbing and operating brick kilns in river land areas.
Brick Kilns in Khulna’s Dumuria: United they kill rivers
Rows of unbaked bricks and large holes dug for brick processing in a grabbed part of the Bhadra river near Kharnia bridge in Dumuria upazila of Khulna. Several local influential people, including elected public representatives, run brick kilns that have occupied the land of the river. The photo was taken recently. Photo: Collected
The Bhadra, once a free-flowing river in Khulna s Dumuria upazila, has been turned into a narrow canal over the years, thanks to encroachment by brick kilns run by local influentials, including elected representatives.
A report prepared by Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) Khulna last December listed nine brick kilns, including those operated by a lawmaker and chairmen of a upazila and a union parishad, on a four-kilometre stretch on one bank of the Bhadra in Kharnia union.