During a recent visit from Alekharchar Amtali Bridge area to Tikkarchar Bridge, it was found that over a hundred houses and shops are on both sides of the river and on the dam. Local people alleged that the influential people are now selling government land at Tk 1 lakh per decimal among the poor through stamped papers. Mizanur Rahman also bought a piece of land from a man in Pachthubi union at Tk 1.5 lakh per decimal and set up a grocery shop over there. He said it has become difficult to save the country's many rivers due to illegal sand dredging and large-scale industrial pollution. On Jul 1, 2019, the High Court declared the country's rivers as ‘living entities’, aiming to save them from encroachment.

Source: Dhaka Tribune October 01, 2019 19:07 UTC