The sad saga of a river named Sutki

It is unfortunate that, in Bangladesh, greedy humans can take possession of public properties through forging documents or resorting to other dubious means without much repercussions. Such is the case of a small river called Sutki in Habiganj district, which is being claimed by a local family as their personal property. The genealogy of ownership of the river and subsequent court battles of nearly 50 years have been chronicled elaborately in this daily. The report has brought to light the clever machinations of some influential people, who continue to claim ownership of the Sutki River with fabricated documents for generations.

It was clearly evident from the papers in the local land office that the water body was recorded as a river, which means it was a government property. The local administration also confirmed that the land was not private property. Even when shown these documents, those claiming the ownership refuse to acknowledge that Sutki is a river; instead, they call it a "water reservoir," which their ancestors apparently dug centuries ago for irrigation.

It is distressing to learn that one family continues to deprive thousands of people of the locality from accessing the resources of the river. The big question that arises is: How could a single family have claimed ownership of a public property for decades? Who aided and abetted them in the process?

It is surprising, indeed, that the ownership of the river has changed hands a number of times through court battles, and it still remains unsettled because of various legal bottlenecks. We have the uneasy feeling that the root of the problem lies at the local land office, where century-old records are kept for future use. According to the Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon's Habiganj unit, the government is yet to win the legal battle due to the negligence of government prosecutors who failed to produce the relevant documents before the court.

The whole story smacks of corruption at a very high level, which is making it difficult to reach a solution. We hope the ministry concerned would now intervene to give back Sutki its legal identity. It is unacceptable that a river should be held hostage to a family's greed and corruption.