Bangladesh News

The caretaker government will soon take stern action against industries releasing pollutants into rivers since the water quality of rivers surrounding the capital deteriorated considerably during the last seven months, LGRD and Cooperatives Adviser Anwarul Iqbal said yesterday.

“We will conduct drives very soon to curb the pollution in the industrial belt of the capital. New laws will be enacted or the existing laws will be amended if necessary,” said the adviser while addressing as the chief guest at a workshop yesterday.

The World Bank and Bangladesh government jointly organised the workshop on ‘Industrial Pollution and Environment Compliance in the Greater Dhaka Watershed’ at Sonargaon Hotel where a study by Institute of Water Modelling (IWM) claimed that dissolved oxygen level in the peripheral rivers fell below one mg/1 during the last seven dry months.

Another study conducted by the World Bank showed that over 300 various outlets of around 7,000 industries in Dhaka Metropolitan area continue to discharge untreated effluent to the water bodies.

Adviser Iqbal said industrial growth and discharging of untreated wastewater within and outside Dhaka have further worsened the problem. He also pointed out that Saidabad water treatment plant is unable to treat the Sitalakkhya water due to massive pollution from surrounding industries. “Presence of higher levels of ammonia at Sarulia point has affected the treatment plant.”

“All major surface water bodies including the main rivers — Buriganga, Sitalakkhya, Turag and Balu — are virtually dead, posing a serious threat to the source of water supply for the inhabitants,” he said.

Dhaka WASA is heavily dependent on groundwater, which is depleting day by day, Adviser Iqbal said, adding, “Rapid fall of the water table and little or no recharge will soon exhaust the vital resource. Furthermore, seepage of industrial and solid wastes into the groundwater is likely to cause an irreversible contamination.”

Leading environmental pollution specialist Adriana Damianova described the workshop’s objectives, study overview and agenda while SM Mahbubur Rahman and Dr Nandini Dasgupta presented the draft technical report and the socio-economic analysis respectively at the inaugural function.

Chaired by LGRD Secretary Safar Raj Hossain, the workshop was also addressed by Environment and Forest Secretary SM Jahrul Islam.