Bapa urges halt to Rabindra University plan threatening Chalan Beel’s ecosystem

As the government moves ahead with plans to build Rabindra University's permanent campus by filling parts of Chalan Beel, environmentalists and local community representatives have raised grave concerns, warning that the project would inflict irreversible damage on one of Bangladesh's largest wetlands. 

At a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity today (28 August), the Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa), the Chalan Beel Protection Movement, and 22 other organisations jointly urged the government to abandon the proposed wetland site and select an alternative location.

Speakers acknowledged broad support for Rabindra University's establishment but argued that sacrificing the country's largest grazing land and one of its most important natural water reservoirs in the process would be "disastrous."

Bapa President Prof Nur Mohammad Talukder described Chalan Beel as a lifeline for the region and beyond. The wetland, he noted, provides a significant share of the fish and milk that reach national markets, serving as both a food source and a critical economic base. "No institution should rise on the ruins of such a resource," he cautioned.

Geographically, the beel serves as a vital buffer zone between the Padma and Jamuna rivers. During the monsoon, it absorbs excess floodwater, lowering disaster risks; in the dry season, it replenishes the rivers and sustains their flow.

Within its vast expanse lie 47 rivers, 163 smaller beels, more than 300 canals, and over 120,000 ponds, an intricate water system that speakers warned would be irreparably disrupted by sand filling and concrete. Such interference, they cautioned, would block natural flows, worsen flooding, and accelerate erosion along nearby riverbanks.

"This is not just a local issue; it is a national resource under threat," argued SM Mizanur Rahman, Bapa's joint secretary and convener of the Chalan Beel Protection Movement. 

He explained that the wetland's biodiversity, spanning hundreds of aquatic and terrestrial species, directly or indirectly sustains over ten million people. Destroying it, he warned, would dismantle an ecological balance nurtured over centuries.

The project faces legal challenges. Bapa Secretary Alamgir Kabir warned that filling 100 acres near Buri Potajia would narrow the river, violating multiple court orders on river protection and the Water Act 2013, which explicitly bans construction that obstructs natural water flow.

Civil society leaders stressed moral implications. Zakir Hossain of Nagorik Uddyog said that while establishing a university to honor Tagore is commendable, doing so by destroying Chalan Beel would betray Tagore's philosophy and harm the communities dependent on the wetland.

On 17 August, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved the project, allocating Tk519 crore for construction between May 2025 and April 2029. 

The approval was made conditional on securing environmental clearance from the Department of Environment, but activists argue that the very choice of site runs counter to ecological and legal safeguards.