Even 16 years after the High Court directive to restore Dhaka's four rivers to their original state, the government has yet to complete even half of the work, including boundary demarcation and walkway construction, aimed at preventing encroachment.

In June 2009, the court ordered the authorities concerned to demarcate the original boundaries of the Buriganga, Turag, Balu and Shitalakkhya to protect them from encroachment and pollution.

Following the order, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) was tasked with installing over 10,000 demarcation pillars and constructing 220 kilometres of circular walkways along both banks of the four rivers.

However, BIWTA has so far completed 72 kilometres of walkways in two phases of a project initiated in 2014. Besides, it has installed 6,200 pillars demarcating the boundaries of the rivers.

In the first phase, 20 kilometres of walkways were constructed along the river ports in Dhaka, Narayanganj and Tongi and two eco-parks were built in Shyampur and Narayanganj. This phase cost the government Tk 142 crore.

The BIWTA began constructing another 52 kilometres of walkways in 2018 under the project's second phase, which remains incomplete.

According to project officials, the walkways will extend from Kamarpara to Dhour in Tongi; from Gabtoli to Sadarghat; from Fatulla to Nitaiganj Khalghat; and from Bosila bridge to Sadarghat via Gabtoli.

In its verdict, the HC directed the then deputy commissioners of Dhaka, Narayanganj, Gazipur and Munshiganj to conduct and complete a river survey based on both Cadastral Survey (CS) and Revisional Survey (RS) records by the end of 2009.

The CS, conducted between 1888 and 1940, defined and recorded the legal boundaries of properties for managing land ownership, while the RS was carried out later to update the land records based on the CS.

The HC also ordered that all river lands -- except those legally leased out -- must be identified and demarcated with boundary pillars by November 2010 to keep those under full control of the government.

Initially, the Public Works Department (PWD) was assigned to put up demarcation pillars. It proceeded with the installation of 9,577 boundary pillars without adhering to CS records.

Following protests from environmentalists, the government decided to discard those and install pillars afresh.

Under the second phase of the project, BIWTA is supposed to install 10,820 demarcation pillars along the four rivers; construct riverbank protection walls stretching up to 44.8 kilometres; and build three eco-parks and several jetties.

Contacted, Abu Zafar Mohammad Shahnawaz Kabir, the project director, said, "Work remained suspended for one and a half years due to legal complications. Land grabbers obtained court orders to halt work in many areas, prompting us to seek intervention from the High Court," he said.

Of the 220 kilometres of planned walkways along both banks of the four rivers, the government has so far undertaken projects covering 72 kilometres. Once the second phase is completed, the BIWTA will launch the third phase to build the remaining stretches within the city's inner circle, the project director said.

"So far, 87 percent of the project [second phase] has been completed. At least 6,200 demarcation pillars have been installed, and walkway construction [72 km] is at the final stage," he said.

When the second phase of the project was taken up in 2018, the cost was estimated at Tk 845.55 crore. In July 2022, the deadline for its completion was extended to June last year, raising the cost to Tk 1,181.10 crore.

But the project could not be completed within the revised timeframe, resulting in further cost escalation.

The project director said the new deadline is June next year, and the project cost has been revised up to Tk 1,275 crore due to a rise in overhead or indirect costs as well as other factors.

Meanwhile, parts of the 22km-walkway that was built along the riverbanks in Kanchpur, Shyampur, Dharmaganj, Ramchandrapur and Tongi have fallen into disrepair.

During a recent visit to Shyampur, it was found that the boundary wall along the walkway collapsed. Pedestrians must exercise caution while crossing the stretch as they risk falling into the river if inattentive.

Asked, the project director said the walkways in Shyampur and Kadamtali areas are in poor shape due to a lack of maintenance.

Referring to the project, environmental activist Sharif Jamil said, "In the name of complying with the 2009 court order, government agencies under the previous administration went for faulty demarcation of rivers, and conducted some sporadic eviction drives, leaving foreshore and riverbanks in the hands of grabbers."

The walkway project is nothing but a tool for corruption to make money from both the project and river grabbers, alleged Sharif, member secretary of Dhora, an NGO working on environment and climate change.

Unabated encroachment and pollution are gradually turning the rivers into narrow canals that carry pollutants downstream, he added.