Bangladesh News

It was around 9:30am. A group of workers at Swarighat chemical market were loading a large pushcart with empty plastic barrels, used for containing one of the 112 toxic chemicals used for the tannery industries in Hazaribagh.

The cart was soon full of barrels neatly stacked as high as 10 feet from the base of the vehicle. The workers then headed for the nearby Mitford Hospital ghat along the embankment under the Second Buriganga Bridge.

Three workers unloaded the barrels and started cleaning the chemicals in the river water. A pungent smell filled the air. The residues from the barrels turned the part of the swollen river water toxic.

Workers said the practice of washing these empty barrels has continued for years.

At the Sadarghat Launch Terminal nearby large passenger launches kept arriving from different destinations and thousands of people flooded the area trying to get a transport. As the vessels prepared for their afternoon schedules for the return journey, groups of mechanics in soiled overalls openly discarded gallons of jet-black engine oil into the Buriganga.

“We always empty this oil into the river, it does not really matter because the oil is quickly dispersed into the big rivers,” said Taleb Mia, an oil trader on an engine boat under the banner “Saudia Oil Trader”.

Members of the law enforcement authorities, gossiping at the Sadarghat terminal area, expressed surprise at the complaint regarding oil dumping and said they would take the matter up with higher officials.

“Where else can they dump this oil?” said one of the policemen, adding,

“If they dump it in the sewerage lines it would end up in the river anyway.”

Despite widespread consensus among people from all walks of life, and a firm commitment by the government, especially Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, to save the rivers around Dhaka, the picture along the Buriganga, Turag, Balu and Shitalakhya remain unchanged. The only difference between the flood season and the lean period regarding pollution is that during flood season the huge volume of floodwater and strong current hide the pollution from public view.

The comprehensive High Court order of June 25 on the government to remove encroachments, demarcate and clean the rivers still remains far away from being carried out. The only progress the government has so far made is to remove some encroachments from the shores and foreshores of the Shitalakhya. The BIWTA (Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority), which conducts the demolition drives with the aid of local administration, is yet to address problems related to massive dumping of earth in the Buriganga, Turag, Balu and Shitalakhya for creating residential or industrial plots.

Meanwhile, completely unabated, the tanneries and thousands of other highly polluting industries keep discharging millions of gallons of toxic wastes into the rivers. Dhaka Wasa (Water Supply and Sewerage Authority) dumps over 90 percent of its untreated wastes, which flow through its network of sewerage lines and canals, into the rivers around the city day and night. Even worse, the Dhaka City Corporation keeps dumping truckloads of kitchen wastes into the river along Kamrangirchar every day.

Zafar Ahmed Khan, director general of the Department of Environment, said this time he is quite optimistic about saving the rivers around the capital which have long been subjected to various assaults including pollution and encroachments.

He says that this time a ground has been created to take appropriate measures to save the rivers around Dhaka.

“Unlike any other issue, an overwhelming national consensus has been reached to save the rivers,” Zafar said, adding, “There is a High Court order that binds us, the prime minister has expressed her firm commitment, so we shall grab this opportunity to save our rivers.”