DOT Desk: The High Court has given orders to give some legal rights to all the rivers in Bangladesh. The High Court on Wednesday accorded the Turag river the status of “legal person” to save it from encroachment and said that the status will be applicable for all rivers across the country, reports The Dhaka Tribune.
As a natural person, human beings are protected by a set of constitutional rights and the status for the rivers will accord the rivers with some basic legal rights.
This is a landmark ruling in a case that has set the precedent for all rivers in Bangladesh to have a “legal person” status in Bangladesh.
The bench of Justices Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury and Md Ashraful Kamal gave the order while delivering the verdict in a writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh.
The court will complete delivering the verdict today with a set of directives on saving the rivers from the encroachment.
Explaining the reasoning for the living entity status, the court said that the rivers are shrinking everyday because of illegal establishments on the river banks.
“Bangladesh and its people will be in danger in the future if the rivers lose navigability and are not saved from encroachment,” the court said.
The ruling comes on the heels of a national conversation about saving rivers and giving them legal entity status. Local and international researchers as well as government and non-government officials working for river rights and protection, have demanded the recognition of rivers as a living entity in order to save it on the 2nd day of the 4th international water conference titled “River: A Living Being”, in Kuakata, Patuakhali.
Experts speaking at the conference on Wednesday said the rivers are gradually being killed by us through unplanned developments, illegal settlements, pollution and more importantly, negligence.
Highlighting the key points of the discussion, AAB Country Director Farah Kabir said: “Through this conference I am addressing the general people as well as the political parties and ministries, to work in unison in order save our rivers.”
A World Bank study said four major rivers near Dhaka – Buriganga, Shitalakhya, Turag and Balu – receive 1.5 million cubic metres of wastewater every day from 7,000 industrial units in surrounding areas and another 0.5 million cubic metres from other sources.
The Environment and Forest Ministry enacted a law in 1995 making it mandatory for all industrial units to use effluent treatment plants (ETPs) to save river waters from pollution, but owners often flout the rule.