How BWDB plans to evict 4,000 illegal structures along Dhaka embankment

Infographic: TBS

The Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) has listed around 4,000 illegal structures along both sides of the Dhaka embankment, covering a stretch of around 28 km from Sadarghat to the Tongi Railway Bridge, along the banks of the Turag River, Buriganga River and Tongi Canal.

The agency has already sent notices to eight encroachers, including the controversial Dhaka Boat Club, giving them one week to vacate the land along the riverbanks.

BWDB officials said they began issuing letters to the encroachers on 28 January, giving them a week to clear the land. They will begin an eviction drive against the illegal occupiers next month, which may include carrying out evictions without prior notice.

Records from the Water Development Board reveal that influential individuals have encroached upon most of the land on both sides of the embankment built to protect the capital from floods in the Buriganga and Turag rivers, stretching from Uttara Abdullahpur to the Babubazar Bridge in Sadarghat.

Political figures and powerful land grabbers have occupied these areas, building housing projects, shopping centres, schools, colleges, dairy farms, car garages and even religious institutions, the records say.

So far, several attempts have been made to reclaim the land owned by the Water Development Board.

In 2019, the board sent a letter to the deputy commissioner of Dhaka requesting assistance in retrieving the embankment land. However, it reports that it was unable to recover the land due to a lack of cooperation from the authorities.

This time, however, there is pressure from the Chief Adviser and advisers of the interim government to reclaim the occupied land along the embankment, according to BWDB officials.

BWDB Dhaka Division Executive Engineer (Civil) M L Shaikat told TBS, "We have already issued eight letters to major groups or companies. We have given them one week to remove all structures within the specified time. We will not issue notices to everyone and we will begin enforcement next month.

"At that time, illegal structures built on BWDB land on both sides of the embankment will be demolished." 

Regarding the Dhaka Boat Club, he said, "The main building of the Boat Club is on its own land, but it has encroached upon nearly 11 acres of land outside its property, fencing it off. The club has taken a lease of 55 decimals of land from the BWDB for its access road."

On 28 January, the BWDB asked the authorities of the Dhaka Boat Club to vacate the 10.73-acre land in Savar it has been illegally occupying. Failure to comply will result in legal action for eviction, it said in a letter to the club's president.

The BWDB also issued notices to two more companies, Sharmin Group and NDE Ready Mix Concrete Limited, for the same reason.

BWDB Dhaka Circle-1 Superintending Engineer (Civil) Dewan Ainul Haque told TBS, "Our letter issuance has just begun. We will send letters in phases. The operation will begin depending on the availability of magistrates.

"However, there are challenges. While we may recover land, there is a possibility of it being re-occupied immediately afterward. Therefore, we are consulting with various stakeholders and ensuring sufficient force to secure and preserve the land." 

After the devastating floods of 1988, the BWDB constructed the flood control embankment to protect the Dhaka metropolis from floods.

According to the BWDB, the total area of land acquired across its 10 regions amounts to 2.56 lakh acres of which 1.87 lakh acres are used for various projects.

Professor Dr Akter Mahmud, Urban and Regional Planning Department, Jahangirnagar University, told TBS, "The initiative to evict the current structures is essential. At the same time, the Water Development Board must ensure that no permanent structures are built in this area. The land could be used for activities that are suitable for floodplains, such as open spaces, parks and fields."