The Turag River had been suffering from illegal establishments on its banks for a long time. But recent drives against those structures have proven useful and provided a satisfactory result for the local people. In addition to that there has been a substantial amount of dredging which has resulted in the increase of water flow in the river. Recent reports published in this daily say that the BIWTA had to excavate 35,000 cubic metres of soil in 119 days which played a crucial part in increasing the flow of water in the river.
With the reopening of the Turag River the fishermen residing near the river will be able to fish more openly which will contribute to the annual inland fish production. Moreover, bulkheads, trawlers and passenger launches plying the water ways will be able to move more freely. Moreover, with continuous water flow in the river, there will be no possible way for water to get stagnant as there will be a continuous shifting of currents which will evidently result in the negation of bad smell from the water.
On another note, the BIWTA’s action to evict the illegal occupiers of the Turag banks was a definite positive aspect. Previously, it was seen that various small scale industries had been established on the banks where various products including plastic industry was established. These industries which were made illegally were plausible places from where toxic liquid chemical wastes were directly ejected into the river. The resulting decay of fish and water health in the river was tremendous.
The BIWTA should keep an eye on the rivers of Bangladesh as these are a major source of wealth and way of communication of goods from one part of the country to another. The preservation of the rivers and inland water bodies should be kept in the to-do list to work towards rescuing all the rivers of the country.
