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The Turag 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
Turag · তুরাগ
Status
Grabbed or polluted
Division
Dhaka
Length
65 km (official river list, 2025)
On the map
Drawn on the map
Map names
Turag River
What the record says (3)
  • In 2019 the High Court declared the Turag, and every river in Bangladesh, a living entity, with the NRCC as its legal guardian. The Appellate Division disposed of the appeal on 17 February 2020 and barred the government from leasing or selling any river land.

    Source: Appellate Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh, 17 Feb 2020

  • 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

On the official list

From the government's list of 1,415 rivers (Ministry of Water Resources, 14 April 2025). Matched by name, in the districts the river crosses on the map.

RowNameDistrictUpazilaFrom → toLength
542তুরাগDhaka, Gazipurআমিনবাজার, ধানমন্ডি, আশুলিয়া, ক্যান্টনমেন্ট, মিরপুর, গাজীপুর সদর, কালিয়াকৈর, টঙ্গী সার্কেল,বংশী (কালিয়াকৈর, গাজীপুর) → বুড়িগঙ্গা65 km

See it in the full official list

The Turag at Amin Bazar and Gabtoli, Dhaka: then and now

The Turag is the river the High Court declared a living entity in 2019. Zoom in along its banks: land filling, new structures and the bridge approaches that narrow the channel.

Left: 20 Feb 2014 · Esri World Imagery archiveImagery: Esri, Vantor, Earthstar Geographics, and the GIS User Community (World Imagery Wayback)Right: 5 Aug 2026 · Esri World Imagery (latest release)