The National River Protection Commission was formed in 2013 but the commission can only make recommendations and so the work of the body is limited to seminars and meetings.
Following criticism from the masses and a verdict from the high court, efforts are underway to give it an effective form. Commission officials say that once implementing power is added, things will change for the better.
Commission Chairman Mujibur Rahman Howlader, said: “We have sent our recommendations to the prime minister and have also informed the parliamentary standing committee; once these are implemented, the commission will become stronger.”
“We now carry out visits, relate our opinion and suggestion to the district administrator and sometimes they listen to us and at others they don’t. Once we become an autonomous body, they will be forced to listen to us,” added Howlader.
The recommendations also include increasing the members of the commission to four.
For eviction and rescue operations manpower, logistics plus money are needed, said Howlader.
The recommendations also ask for permanent police deployment for river inspection, eviction and recovery.
Other issues mentioned include: public awareness, social media campaigns, adequate land and water transport and inclusion of academic institutes.
The importance of foreign training for officials, survey and research has also been mentioned.