The Balu is listed by The Daily Star (World Rivers Day, 28 September 2025) among the rivers of its division under assault from grabbing, pollution or sand-lifting.
- Name
- Balu · বালু
- Status
- Grabbed or polluted
- Division
- Dhaka
- Length
- 44 km (official river list, 2025)
- On the map
- Drawn on the map
- Map names
- Balu River
What the record says (4)
In the 1960s Dhaka had roughly 175 canals, beels and water bodies and about 13,500 ha of low-lying flood-retention land.
Source: Dhaka Tribune, 25 Jul 2026
About 15,000 hectares of permanent wetlands and floodplains in and around Dhaka have gone under concrete since the 1980s (World Bank estimate).
Source: Dhaka Tribune, 25 Jul 2026
An RDRC physical survey of 56 rivers across seven divisions (2022) found every one of them polluted.
Source: The Daily Star, 28 Sep 2025
57,390 individuals and organisations had grabbed 770 rivers; 18,579 were evicted in a year.
Source: The Daily Star, 28 Dec 2020