Roads on Titas River
Govt asked to explain in four weeks
The High Court yesterday issued a rule upon the government to explain in four weeks why construction of several makeshift roads in the name of embankments on the river Titas in Brahmanbaria should not be declared illegal.
In response to a writ petition, the court asked the government to explain why it should not be directed to demolish or remove the roads to ensure a natural flow of water of the river.
The HC bench of Justice Farid Ahmed and Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif came up with the rule after hearing the writ petition filed to challenge the legality of the construction of “makeshift roads in the name of embankments” on the river.
Mahmudur Rahman, acting editor of the daily Amar Desh, filed the petition as public interest litigation on January 12, stating that several makeshift roads and 17 rivulets were erected in the name of embankments in different areas in Brahmanbaria, thereby obstructing the natural water flow of the river.
The roads and embankments were erected on the river violating the provisions of Bangladesh Water Development Act of 2000, Embankment Act of 1953 and Inland Transport Authority Ordinance 1958, which ensured a free flow of water, the petitioner said.
Petitioner's counsel AJ Mohammad Ali told the court that roads and embankments were constructed on the river Titas, obstructing the free flow of water and damaging the environment of the area.
Additional Attorney General MK Rahman and Deputy Attorney General Motaher Hossain Saju opposed the petition, saying that roads and embankments were constructed following the relevant laws and rules.
MK Rahman told The Daily Star that the petitioner, a BNP leader and a former energy adviser of the BNP-led four-party alliance government, did not mention the period when the roads and embankments were constructed and did not also move the petition during the construction period.
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