Shall we just bow to illegal sand lifters?

It is incomprehensible how our rivers are being constantly polluted, grabbed and ravaged through various activities by powerful individuals and groups. Illegal sand extraction is one such activity, which is not only a threat to rivers' existence but also destroying the lives and livelihoods of lakhs of people living along their banks. A recent Prothom Alo report has revealed how mindless sand lifting has been wreaking havoc on the people near Jamuna River, with erosion eating up half of a union in Sirajganj's Sadar upazila and leaving around 400-500 families homeless.

Apparently, around 50 dredgers are actively operating on the river stretching from Jailkhana Ghat to Kawakola union in Sirajganj city. Hundreds of bulkheads have been seen running in the 10-kilometre area from Bangabandhu Bridge to the hard point of the river. Judging by this state of affairs, it seems Jamuna has become a centre of the sand extraction business, with politically connected influentials mostly behind it. One may recall that, in October, this daily published an investigative report providing a detailed account of how a Union Parishad chairman in Chandpur, with the blessing of a local MP, has been running an illegal operation by extracting sand from the Meghna River. Sadly, such practices are being allowed through various mechanisms across the country.

The question is: what are the authorities doing to stop such illegal activities in the first place? How many people, including officials and illegal traders and those enabling them, have they held accountable for damaging our rivers? Did the National River Conservation Commission (NRCC) play the role expected of it? Should we let those river grabbers and sand-lifters continue to exploit the lifelines of our country, creating a living crisis for the common people? Who will give us the answers?

Enough damage has been done to our rivers over the past decades. Given the present state of pollution and encroachment, it may be already too late to restore some of those to their previous state, but we must hurry to save others from a similar fate. For this, the relevant departments and agencies, each with distinct roles to play, must take responsibility as well as initiative, instead of blaming each other. And the NRCC must be made more efficient so that it can perform its duty as the legal guardian of our rivers. The fact that a recent book published by it on Bangladesh's rivers is reportedly filled with wrong information does not exactly inspire confidence. It must do better, much better. All involved must work with the urgency that our rapidly deteriorating rivers deserve.