Releasing Saline Water to Paddy Field
UP chairman among 44 sued in Dumuria
Cutting of an embankment to make saline water enter this shrimp enclosure in Magurghona union under Dumuria upazila of Khulna district causes flooding of large area of arable fields, making them unfit for cultivation.Photo: STAR
Forty-four people including a union parishad (UP) chairman have been sued for releasing saline water to arable land for shrimp cultivation, violating a High Court ruling issued earlier. Munshi Asadullah, sub assistant engineer of the Khulna office of Water Development Board (WDB), on Thursday night filed an FIR as complainant with Dumuria police station, accusing 44 people including Bimal Sana, chairman of Magurghona union parishad under Dumuria upazila in Khulna district, and president of the union unit of Awami League. He is also owner of the shrimp enclosure in question. "Despite several notices to stop releasing saline water to arable land for shrimp cultivation in defiance of the High Court order, the accused continued the act," the complainant said in the FIR. Earlier on February 1 this year, a division bench of the High Court comprising Justice HM Shamsuddin Chowdhury and Justice Jahangir Hossain issued a ruling directing authorities concerned to stop release of saline water for shrimp cultivation in polder areas by dismantling embankment. The ruling followed a writ petition filed by Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) and non-government organisation (NGO) Nijera Kori. The petitioners alleged that a section of influential men of Magurghona union in Dumuria upazila are causing extensive damage to arable land and polluting environment by releasing saline water for shrimp cultivation and thus rendering large number of farmers jobless. When contacted, UP Chairman Bimal Sana, who is prime accused in the case, said he is not yet aware of the High Court ruling. Advocate Iqbal Kabir of BELA, on the other hand, said the UP chairman had received a copy of the High Court ruling. The High Court ruling regarding shrimp cultivation is still in effect, said Md Jalaluddin, an official of Nijera Kori. Dumuria police station officer in charge M Mashiur Rahman said vigorous investigation is going on regarding allegation of the complainant.
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