From 2001 to 2006: BNP leaders grabbed thousands of acres of land illegally by filling the river

The top brushes of BNP-Jamaat grabbed the country’s land using their state and muscle power during their tenure between 2001 and 2006. They built illegal structures by filling up thousands of acres of land in Buriganga, Turag rivers in Dhaka and Shitalaksha river in Narayanganj. As soon as Tarique Rahman gong started illegally occupying 15 thousand hectares of forest land in the Mymensingh range, Pintu, Tuku, Gias Uddin and Dipjol also began to grab rivers simultaneously.

The Prothom Alo published the news with photos on January 25, 2007. The newspapers started publishing the stories mainly after the caretaker government came to power on January 11, 2007. Earlier, BNP-Jamaat used state power to suppress these crimes by killing journalists.

The main perpetrator who grabbed and occupied the 40-kilometre area along the banks of Buriganga and Turag rivers in Dhaka were BNP’s State Minister Iqbal Mahmud Tuku, MP Salahuddin Ahmed and Nasir Uddin Ahmed Pintu, Ward Commissioner Monowar Hossain Dipjol. MP Gias Uddin Salim was the main culprit for grabbing Narayanganj's Shitalaksha river.

BNP’s State Minister Iqbal Mahmud Tuku, MP Salahuddin Ahmed, Nasir Uddin Ahmed Pintu, and Ward Commissioner Monowar Hossain Dipjol gong occupied 3 to 4 acres of land and built illegal structures on the banks of Buriganga and Turag for 40 kilometres. The illegally built market of Dipjol was demolished due to filling up to the middle of the Turag river in Aminbazar. Even MP Salauddin built a garden house in Shyampur's Kadmatla by occupying the river illegally and used to spend his leisure there. Pinto grabbed the back side of Mitford Hospital in Old Dhaka. The occupiers built hundreds of illegal structures and collected crores of money as rent.

Again, MP Gias Uddin Salim built an industrial factory by monopolizing the area under the Kanchpur Bridge of the Shitalaksha River in Narayanganj. He occupied and filled up to the middle of the river. Bangladesh Inland Shipping Authority gave warnings repeatedly, but nothing changed. Rather, they continued their activities in full swing using state power.