Buriganga losing its virtues to pollution
River Buriganga, which once served as the lifeline of capital Dhaka, continues to lose its virtues due to rampant dumping of thousands of tons of industrial chemicals and non-biodegradable wastes.
Thousands of factories and inhabitants have cropped up along the river banks on both sides and continuously dump their wastes into the river without any treatment.
During a visit to the areas, it was found that some tanneries from Hazaribagh area, hundreds of polythene and plastic recycling factories in Lalbagh, Islambagh, Kamarigirchar, and more than 200 dyeing factories in Keraniganj, had encroached on the river banks.
At the same time, various kinds of toxic chemicals from thousands of different mills and factories in Shyampur, Pagla and Fatulla areas of Narayanganj were being dumped into the river without any form of treatment.
Currently, there are 42 dyeing factories in Kadamtali and Shyampur areas only. There are around 70 to 80 small and large factories in the area up and a match sticks factory at Muncikhola. Apart from this, there are small and large rolling mills, glass and melamine factories in the area, sources said.
As per the National River Protection Commission Act-2013, all factories must use Effluent Treat Plant (ETP) to treat their wastes before disposal. However, it was found that most of these factories did not have an operational ETP or any other form of filtration to treat the wastes before dumping.
Sources say, some 8-10 types of toxic chemicals have been found in the river causing grave damage to its biodiversity. Fishes and other marine life are almost non-existent in the river waters due to such high levels of toxicity.
“It has been strictly mentioned in the law to manage and treat industrial wastes before dumping to protect the environment, but it has not been implemented properly in our country. We had always called for the implementation of the act for the sake of protecting our rivers,” said National River Protection Commission chairman Dr Mujibur Rahaman Hawlader.
Seeking anonymity, a dying factory owner said, “Although some factories do have an ETP but either the quality is very poor or they are not capable enough to clean such large amounts of industrial wastes. It costs huge amount of money to set new ETP by individual effort. We seek the government's help in this regard.”
Talking to Bangladesh Post, Md Abdul Matin, general secretary of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA), said: “The rivers around Dhaka have become garbage dump today. We have been campaigning for the last 20 years to save the rivers. But the government is yet to take any initiatives in this matter.”
"After successfully removing most tanneries from Hazaribagh to Savar through our long movement, now unabated waste and toxic waste dumping by dyeing factories from Postagola, Shyampur and Narayanganj's Pagla have become one of leading causes of Buriganga pollution.”
“We have also noticed that in the past, the Buriganga was rampantly polluted to protect the interests of some industrialists.”, he added.
To save Buriganga from pollution, Matin suggests, “ETPs should be made mandatory for the dyeing factories of these areas.”
Thousands of factories and inhabitants have cropped up along the river banks on both sides and continuously dump their wastes into the river without any treatment.
During a visit to the areas, it was found that some tanneries from Hazaribagh area, hundreds of polythene and plastic recycling factories in Lalbagh, Islambagh, Kamarigirchar, and more than 200 dyeing factories in Keraniganj, had encroached on the river banks.
At the same time, various kinds of toxic chemicals from thousands of different mills and factories in Shyampur, Pagla and Fatulla areas of Narayanganj were being dumped into the river without any form of treatment.
Currently, there are 42 dyeing factories in Kadamtali and Shyampur areas only. There are around 70 to 80 small and large factories in the area up and a match sticks factory at Muncikhola. Apart from this, there are small and large rolling mills, glass and melamine factories in the area, sources said.
As per the National River Protection Commission Act-2013, all factories must use Effluent Treat Plant (ETP) to treat their wastes before disposal. However, it was found that most of these factories did not have an operational ETP or any other form of filtration to treat the wastes before dumping.
Sources say, some 8-10 types of toxic chemicals have been found in the river causing grave damage to its biodiversity. Fishes and other marine life are almost non-existent in the river waters due to such high levels of toxicity.
“It has been strictly mentioned in the law to manage and treat industrial wastes before dumping to protect the environment, but it has not been implemented properly in our country. We had always called for the implementation of the act for the sake of protecting our rivers,” said National River Protection Commission chairman Dr Mujibur Rahaman Hawlader.
Seeking anonymity, a dying factory owner said, “Although some factories do have an ETP but either the quality is very poor or they are not capable enough to clean such large amounts of industrial wastes. It costs huge amount of money to set new ETP by individual effort. We seek the government's help in this regard.”
Talking to Bangladesh Post, Md Abdul Matin, general secretary of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA), said: “The rivers around Dhaka have become garbage dump today. We have been campaigning for the last 20 years to save the rivers. But the government is yet to take any initiatives in this matter.”
"After successfully removing most tanneries from Hazaribagh to Savar through our long movement, now unabated waste and toxic waste dumping by dyeing factories from Postagola, Shyampur and Narayanganj's Pagla have become one of leading causes of Buriganga pollution.”
“We have also noticed that in the past, the Buriganga was rampantly polluted to protect the interests of some industrialists.”, he added.
To save Buriganga from pollution, Matin suggests, “ETPs should be made mandatory for the dyeing factories of these areas.”
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