The Bangladesh High Court has given the status of living entity to all the rivers of the country. Before this the Uttarakhand High Court had also given the same status to river Ganga. These judgements follow the Act in New Zealand giving the status of Living River to Whanganui River. However there is a basic difference between the New Zealand approach and that of Bangladesh and India. New Zealand has made the local Maori tribe and the government as the guardian of the river, whereas Bangladesh and India have only made government authorities as guardian of the river. Therefore the New Zealand approach gives people a right in managing the river. The Bangladesh and Indian approach gives that responsibility to the same government which is responsible for destroying them. Therefore these judgements are more cosmetic and lack content.
