THE River Buriganga, the ecological lifeline of Dhaka, faces a slow death. The photograph that 抖阴精品 published on October 30 shows unabated encroachment on the river land and the unchecked dumping of polythene bags and rubbish in the river at Islambagh in Dhaka. Untreated liquid industrial effluents discharged into the river indiscriminately has left the river biologically dead as the level of dissolved oxygen 鈥� needed for the survival of fish and other aquatic animals 鈥� became very low. Dockyards have run illegally for decades, encroaching on the Buriganga along a stretch between Keraniganj and Narayanganj. The faulty demarcation of the river by the custodians, including the administration of two districts, the Inland Water Transport Authority and the environment department, has created further scope of encroachment. Despite High Court directives, the enactment of laws and policy-level decisions, the recently deposed Awami League-led government failed to end the pollution and encroachment on the river land. The interim government has repeatedly talked about saving rivers as its priority agenda but it has so far made no decisive move to reclaim rivers since it assumed office.
The failure of successive governments in protecting the River Buriganga as well as other rivers is a failure to perform their mandated duty. Article 18(A) of the constitution states that the state will endeavour to protect and conserve rivers, wetland and forests. Other laws 鈥� the Bangladesh Water Act 2013, the National River Conservation Commission Act 2013, and the Environment Conservation Act 1995 鈥� also oblige the government to protect the rivers. Successive governments, however, have not taken the issue of river protection seriously. In the past, eviction drives by the Inland Water Transport Authority against dockyards excluded the ones owned and run by politically influential quarters. Industrial units near the Burganga have been in operation without treatment plants but they have rarely faced any penalty. Under pressure from green activists, the National River Conservation Commission Act was made. But, it has not structurally evolved to play an effective role. In 2012, Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority prepared a sewerage master plan, which proposed 11 sewage treatment plants in and around the city. However, most of plants are still in planning stages, encouraging an illegal use of storm sewers. In the name of road network development, public agencies violate environmental laws and encroach on river land. Roads and Highway Department statistics show that at least 35 U-turns or U-loops are constructed, filling major rivers on the Dhaka鈥揅hattogram and Dhaka鈥揂richa highways. The division has filled about 30鈥�40 feet of Karnapara canal near Savar with municipal waste to construct a U-loop on the Dhaka鈥揂richa highway, negatively influencing the navigability the Buriganga and its channels.
Considering that the economic and ecological integrity is dependent on the river system, the interim government should take issues of river management seriously and protect rivers from being encroached on. Errant industrial unit owners should also be held to account.
