Water resources ministry to conduct drive against river, canal grabbers
A virtual meeting was held in this regard on Monday, where Kabir Bin Anwar, senior secretary to the water resource ministry, briefed the deputy commissioners and divisional commissioners on the matter.
The Ministry of Water Resources has taken an initiative to conduct a fresh drive against illegal occupiers in a bid to reclaim the grabbed rivers, canals, and water bodies across the country.
A virtual meeting was held in this regard on Monday, where Kabir Bin Anwar, senior secretary to the water resource ministry, briefed the deputy commissioners and divisional commissioners on the matter.
The senior secretary said, "We have already evicted 23,802 establishments in phases and reclaimed 1,027 acres of land. But the eviction process has slowed down due to the coronavirus pandemic. We will resume soon."
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Rokon Ud Daula, additional secretary to the ministry; AKM Waheed Uddin Chowdhury, director general of Bangladesh Water Development Board; Md Asafuddaula, project director of the rivers and canals re-excavation project; were present on the occasion.
The ministry had already launched an eviction drive against 45,095 enlisted illegal establishments across the country.
After executing 52.78% of the plan, the authorities had to slow down the eviction drives in the face of the coronavirus outbreak.
The ministry is now set to resume the eviction activities to vacate the remaining 21,293 establishments. Environmentally friendly trees will be planted in the reclaimed areas.
