File photo of Bangladesh High CourtThe High Court has given orders to give some legal rights to all the rivers in BangladeshThe High Court accorded the Turag river the status of “legal person” to save it from encroachment and said that the status will be applicable for all rivers across the country yesterday. As a natural person, human beings are protected by a set of constitutional rights and the status for the rivers will accord the rivers with some basic legal rights. This is a landmark ruling in a case that has set the precedent for all rivers in Bangladesh to have a “legal person” status in Bangladesh. The ruling comes on the heels of a national conversation about saving rivers and giving them legal entity status. If the authorities had implemented them, there was no need to file this case with the High Court to save the Turag.

Source: Dhaka Tribune January 30, 2019 17:04 UTC