HC seeks names, addresses of Buriganga encroachers

The High Court on Monday asked the Directorate of Land Record and Survey to submit a report, attaching the names and addresses of encroachers of the River Buriganga within three months.

The bench of Justice Gobinda Chandra Thakur and Justice Mohammad Ullah passed the order following a writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB).

In its order, the High Court asked the Director General of the Directorate of Land Record and Survey to conduct the CS/RS land survey on the original channel of Buriganga (Hazaribagh and Kamrangirchar) and submit a report accordingly.

The court also said that Dhaka's Deputy Commissioner, representatives from Bangladesh Inland Water Transportation Authority (Biwta) will also be members of the survey team. 

It also directed the Superintendent of Dhaka Police to provide all manner of cooperation during the survey.

Advocate Manzil Murshid represented the petitioner in the court.

After hearing a writ petition filed by the HRPB in 2009, seeking an order to save four rivers from encroachers, another bench of the High Court provided a list of nine-point directives, including survey of the river boundary and eviction of encroachers.

Later in 2015, the HRPB filed a petition to the court, seeking an order to survey the original channel of Buriganga in the Hazaribagh-Kamrangirchar area and identify the encroachers, as the river was out of the purview of the previous survey.

After hearing the plea, a bench of the High Court directed the authorities concerned to form a special team for the original channel CS/RS survey and submit a report after demarcating the boundaries.

Later, the HRPB filed a supplementary petition to the court to save the river in the Hazaribagh-Kamrangirchar area by evicting the encroachers, and the court today heard that petition.