High Court orders removal of illegal bamboo barriers from Khulna river within seven days

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The High Court has ordered the removal of illegal bamboo barricades obstructing the Amtala River in Khulna’s Batiaghata upazila within seven days. The directive, issued Monday by a bench comprising Justice Md. Habibul Gani and Justice Syed Mohammad Tazrul Hossain, follows a writ petition filed by the environmental and human rights group, Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB).

The legal challenge was prompted by a report in the daily newspaper Prothom Alo, which detailed how the Khulna district administration had leased out the river for 110,000 taka in 2023. By categorizing the river as a closed waterbody, the administration allowed lessees to install bamboo fencing and nets that effectively blocked the waterway, preventing local residents from fishing or accessing the water for daily use.

In addition to the removal order, the court issued a rule asking why the administration’s previous inaction regarding the river’s occupation should not be declared illegal. The court has directed the environment secretary, land secretary, water resources secretary, the director general of the Department of Environment, and the deputy commissioner of Khulna to respond to the rule within four weeks.

Senior lawyer Manzill Murshid, representing the petitioners, emphasized that under national environmental laws and the High Court’s landmark ruling recognizing rivers as living entities, there is no legal basis to obstruct the natural flow of a river. Even in cases where a waterbody is leased, Murshid argued, the administration has no authority to permit the installation of permanent barriers that stifle river navigation and ecology.

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The court has mandated that the deputy commissioner of Khulna and the upazila executive officer of Batiaghata submit a compliance report within three weeks. A follow-up hearing on the matter is scheduled for August 20.

Following the publication of the report, local authorities launched a cleanup operation last Saturday, removing approximately 15,000 meters of illegal netting and specialized fishing traps known as “China duari” from the river. The court’s latest order now compels the administration to ensure the complete removal of all remaining obstructions.