Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter on Tuesday said the fascists should be tried also for killing rivers as they destroyed democracy and environment in the name of development.
“When we’ll try fascists, they should be tried also for killing rivers. I think it is a very important matter for us,” she said describing the river killing as genocide.
She said this while addressing a report publication and seminar titled “Rivers under Fascism” at the auditorium of Press Institute of Bangladesh (PIB) in the city.
PIB and River and Delta Research Centre (RDRC) jointly arranged the function to focus on the damages of the country's rivers in the last 15 years during the Awami League’s regime.
The fisheries and livestock adviser said actual fishermen lost their livelihoods due to fish businessmen in the fascist structure during the Awami League.
“I think the mother of fascism and several brothers of fascism have gone (fled). But we can’t say the entire fascism has gone. I think we’ve to do more work here,” she said.
Farida Akhter said they (AL government) destroyed democracy and the environment in the name of development.
She criticized the poets and litterateurs for not raising voice against destruction of rivers. “The rivers were supposed to be subjects of the poets and litterateurs. But how many poets and litterateurs spoke against such destruction of the rivers?” she said
“We will consider if a law can be formulated to identify the river encroachers as criminals and take action against them,” she said.
Putting emphasis on protecting rivers from the hands of fascism in the post-mass uprising era, the adviser said, “Our mass uprising has been a success, but now we’ll have to save our rivers.”
Farida Akhter said they would incorporate a special chapter when the constitution would be rewritten afresh in a bid to save natural resources like rivers and our nature.
Information and Broadcasting Adviser Nahid Islam said the country’s nature and rivers were damaged time and again due to fascist development policy and politics.
“We need more discussions and research in this matter. We should actually think about how we can overcome this disastrous condition (of the rivers),” he said.
The information adviser said the government will have to adopt national policy over rivers, agriculture and environment.
He also emphasized on formulation of long-term and short-term plans with consultation in this regard.
Referring the remarks of other speakers who commented that fascists are still there in the river sector, he said, “We’ll have to prepare outlines and action plans, and to work so that we can resist encroachers,”
Noting that rivers and waters would be more critical issues in the future politics, Nahid said, “We seek cooperation from all so that we can restore our rivers (in their normal shapes) and bring back water flows in the rivers and bring the encroachers under trial properly.”
PIB Director General Faruk Wasif chaired the event, while RDRC Chairman Mohammad Azaz made the keynote presentation raising the findings of a study conducted by RDRC.
According to the study, Bangladesh’s rivers and wetlands have faced relentless exploitation and degradation due to illegal sand extraction and encroachment in the AL’s fascist regime from 2009 to 2024.
Political leaders and local mafias have seized control of these waterways, resulting in extensive environmental devastation.
Though illegal sand extraction adversely affects the environment, economy and local communities, such sand extraction is rampant across numerous locations in Bangladesh.
A total of 256 Mafias (influential individuals) including local political leaders, business figures, and organized groups, controlled the illegal sand extraction on 176 locations of different rivers like the Meghna, Padma and Jamuna throughout the country.
Some 77 rivers are now under the threat of illegal sand extraction and the country’s economy is losing Tk 27.13 crore daily.
