THE pollution of rivers, especially the four that surround the Dhaka city and generally all of them that flow through the Dhaka division, runs high whilst there may not be any rivers in outlying areas that are free of pollution. The environment department says that at least 1,659 industrial units discharge untreated waste water into canals, rivers and other water bodies. And most such factories are located in and around the Dhaka city and in other districts of the division. Official statistics show that 128 of the factories are located in the metropolitan area and 1,531 are in the division. Gazipur is reported to have 519 such factories, Dhaka 499, Narayanganj 380 and Narsingdi 129. No data on the situation in outlying areas are available. Yet, the data at hand show that river pollution mainly takes place around the Dhaka city. And, green campaigners put this down to the failure of authorities to deal with pollution sources. New sources of pollution keep coming up, compounding the situation. Experts say that industrial and municipal wastes majorly contribute to the pollution of rivers and water bodies. The situation has only worsened over the years in the absence of effective steps.
A December 2024 survey, which has published the report in January, has identified 1,024 points that discharge industrial effluents, municipal waste and sewage and are responsible for the pollution of the Buriganga, the Sitalakhya, the Turag and the Balu. The number of such points was 693 in 2022 and 608 in 2020. The growing number shows the inefficiency of all the public agencies that are mandated to stop river pollution. Or, this could well be the unwillingness of the agencies as corruption has all along been reported to be at the heart of the failures of the authorities to attend to the situation. Whilst many of the factories do not have any effluent treatment plants 鈥� and they are said to get away by somehow managing the administration 鈥� some of the factories that do have treatment plants are reported to be discharging the effluents without treatment so as to save money. Environmental officials list textile, washing, dyeing and pharmaceutical factories and hospitals and clinics that mostly do not have waste-water treatment plants. Experts say that some public agencies, especially the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority, are major polluters of the rivers. The environment department says that it has served notices to the 1,659 factories, noting that it would take action if the units do not take measures. But such warnings in the past have not worked.
What the government, therefore, needs is the earnestness and will to end river pollution effectively and sustainably.