THE River Buriganga is faced with a slow death. Various public agencies responsible for containing river pollution have not only failed to perform their duties but also contributed to the problem. The dying condition of the river is concerning given that the environment, forest and climate change adviser has repeatedly announced their commitment to protecting and reclaiming rivers. The adviser has said that the government would set an example by freeing the Buriganga of pollution. A photograph that 抖阴精品 published on February 5 also paints a grim picture and shows an unchecked dumping of chemical wastes into the river near Dhaleswar landing station in Dhaka. The steps taken so far resemble speaks about the insincerity of the toppled Awami League government. The superficial effort of the ministry has also drawn heavy criticism recently when three advisers indulged in an extravagance for the launch of a canal reclamation work in Dhaka.
A sizeable number of industrial units dump their untreated chemical wastes into the distributary channels of the river to the extent that the dissolved oxygen level is less than the standard limit at many points of the rivers. When a minimum of 5mg/litre of dissolved oxygen is required for aquatic life, the level of dissolved oxygen in the Buriganga, as a Riverine People and National Geographic Society study shows, goes down below 3mg/litre in the summer, below 2mg/litre in the autumn and the spring and below 1mg/litre in the winter. The study reports that the Buriganga wetland was reduced to 7.17 per cent from 12.63 per cent in 1990鈥�2020. The study also identifies 250 structures on the river banks including 108 factories, 43 shipyards, 23 mills, 22 industries, 19 warehouses and 17 brick kilns. The river has lost a 16-kilometre stretch to encroachment over the years. The Water Development Board measured the length of the Buriganga to be 45 kilometres in 2005 and 29 kilometres in 2011. There are many High Court directives that gave the government guidelines on how to protect the river. In 2021, the court asked the environment department to file cases against 30 businesses, including 17 washing plants at Keraniganj in Dhaka, for polluting the river. The department has prepared a list industries running on the banks of the river without proper waste treatment plants. In this context, the ministry鈥檚 recent order asking the divisional commissioner to submit plans to free rivers of encroachment appears redundant.
The government should, therefore, abandon the superficial and non-committal attitude of its predecessors and take early action against errant industrial units and file cases against the encroachers. The environment department should ensure that no factories should run without treatment plants or clearance certificates from their department. The interim government appears to be playing to the gallery, instead of taking meaningful, sustainable actions to protect rivers.
