Dhaka, Nov 18 – The National Committee to Protect Shipping, Roads and Railways (NCPSRR) on Saturday demanded immediate excavation of river Gumti and Dakatia by making those free from pollution and grabbing for the free flow of water and movement of inland water vessels to save Comilla from risks of environmental degradation.In a press statement after visiting the uncontrolled sand lifting from Gumti and pollution by garbage in the river Dakatia at Tikkarchar near Gumti bridge in Comilla Town, the National Committee also demanded dredging of the rivers around the year to ensure smooth navigation and keep the rivers navigable for vessels.
A 14-member team of representatives of the national committee comprising experts and local green activists visited the area on Friday.
The team, led by the NCPSRR president Md Shahid Mia, included Water Resources Planning Organization’s former director general M Enamul Huq, BIWTA former director Emdadul Huq Badsha, leading green activist in Comilla Dr ABM Khorshed Alam and the NCPSRR general secretary Ashis Kumar Dey as members.
The team also formed a human chain on Gumti Bridge at Tikkarchar on the river Gumti, extending the committee’s support to the local people’s demand to save the rivers in a bid to save Comilla from environmental degradation.
The statement, referring to the visit to the area, said an influential quarter was involved in uncontrolled and illegal sand lifting with dredgers from river Gumti that had been flowing through the northern side of Comilla city.
The committee found a huge number of piles of lifted sand at different places near Gomoti bridge.
Expressing their concern about excessive sand lifting, the NCPSRR leaders said that if the upstream silt was extracted excessively and used to fill lands, the fertile topsoil would be covered and if the downstream silts failed to go to the Bay of Bengal harming natural balance.
As a result, the statement said, the natural resistance against sea level rise would be reduced.
The NCPSRR observed that the untreated industrial wastes from Comilla town had been polluting the Dakatia basin as the wastes were reaching there through the Gangajuri river.
If the system to treat the industrial wastes cannot be developed right now, the statement said, the agriculture, as well as nature and environment of the area, would face severe degradation. – GW Newsdesk
