The New Nation - Internet Edition

Iffat Jarin

One late afternoon, senior citizen Abul Hossain of Hazaribagh sits on the bank of the Buriganga staring at the dying river. He is saddened seeing the present sate of the river.

"Things have changed. The river is now dying. In our youth we always enjoyed the frenzied nature of the Buriganga. I along with pals used to swim across the river," says a nostalgic Hossain.

He goes on: "At that time this river was one of the main attractions for the city dwellers. This is not the Buriganga what it was. It has lost its youth and become dirty. The way people are polluting it the river will die soon like we old haggard will."

Losing its beauty and glory, Buriganga is now almost a dead river. There is no high wave anymore. For miles, it contains poisonous and stinky water obstructing the livelihood of the people living and working on its banks. Using its polluted water, the slum dwellers and low-income group people are getting affected by various waterborne diseases.

For instance, Moshrek, a resident of Hazaribagh, has been working in a tannery along the river for over four years. He often suffers from headache, fever and stomach upset apart from skin diseases. Once he also suffered from jaundice.

According to sources at the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, the amount of chromium in per litre tube-well water in Hazaribagh area ranges from 0.02 to 0.44 against the acceptable amount of 0.005. Any creature may die straight away drinking this water. The ICDDR, B Annual Report, 2006 shows over 10,000 children in Dhaka city die of waterborne diseases every year.

It also reveals that the amount of dissolved oxygen in one litre of Buriganga water is 1.3 milligrams. But, for the aquatic animals or fish to survive there should be minimum 4 milligrams of oxygen in one litre. So, there is hardly any fish in the river even in the rainy season.

Delwar, a fisherman living on the bank of Buriganga, says since no fish is available foreign variety of 'magur' (cat fish) is cultivated here.

Tests conducted by Science and Industry Laboratory and Fisheries Department found harmful elements in fishes caught from the river. Dr Farhana Haque of Riverside Hospital, Sirajnagar says consumption of such fishes may cause various diseases like jaundice, diarrhoea and stomachache.

Dr Mazharul Islam Khan, a water scientist, says, "Everyday hundreds of tons of liquid waste from industries, tanneries and fertilizer factories in Lalbagh, Kamrangirchar, Pagla, Fatullah and Narayanganj are dumped in the river.

Besides, poisonous wastes from thousands of legal and illegal factories, and naval vessels also pour into the river. Everyday 7.7 million litres of liquid waste mix with the Buriganga water. The situation is now so grave that anytime there may be an epidemic in the surrounding areas."

Buriganga is being polluted in many ways. Huge wastes from the capital's hundreds of industries, garment factories and tanneries are dumped in this river. A 2005 survey by Environment department shows 82 percent of the city's sewerage waste is mixed with the Buriganga water. Some 9,000 metric tons of waste is created each day on average in Dhaka and 50 percent of it is dumped in the river.

It is the waste of hospitals that has long been polluting the river. No system has been invented yet to manage the harmful medical waste. The wastes from the wholesale markets of fruits and vegetables on the riverbanks are also dumped into it.

Dumping of these wastes is not only polluting this river but also filling and narrowing it.

Building of illegal structures on the encroached land is another serious problem faced by Buriganga. There are thousands of illegal structures on its banks. A survey conducted by Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) in 1997 showed the amount of dispossessed land was 39 acres. Occasionally, illegal structures are demolished by the authorities only to be rebuilt some time later.

An inter-ministerial taskforce, formed to prevent encroachment and pollution of the river, put forward a 17-point recommendation in October 2002 and the Shipping Ministry has decided to implement those. But, no one knows, for sure, when these will be implemented.

The recommendations include undertaking short- and long-term projects by Dhaka WASA and Dhaka City Corporation to prevent dumping of sewerage and wastes, shifting of Hazaribagh tanneries from their existing places, undertaking a three-year project to stop dumping by industries, not allowing any industries within 50 metres from the banks and removal of garbage and polythene from the riverbed.

In this regard, Prof Nazrul Islam, an urban specialist and environmentalist, says, "Though there are many plans to check the river pollution, but we rarely see those to be implemented."

There is another deadly consequence of Buriganga pollution. The water of this river is used in the only water refinery of the capital. There are many problems in refining water of the river due to the loss of its navigability and excessive pollution. If the amount of pollution cannot be stopped at the moment, the refinery may be closed causing a severe water crisis in the capital.

Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon (BAPA), a non-government organization, has long been carrying out a campaign to help save the Buriganga River.

According to BAPA, the following steps are needed to be taken to solve the problems. Those include demolition of all illegal structures, removal of legal obstacles to cases of the structures having court injunctions, beautification of the banks, dredging the riverbed to keep its water flow uninterrupted, removal of wastes from the riverbed, putting an end to all kinds of dumping and introduction of a water circular way.

Dr Hossain Shahriar, an environmentalist and journalist, says, "Forcing all the industries and factories situated around Buriganga to set up their own treatment plants is the only way to stop direct pollution. Emphasis will also have to be given on those rivers having direct connection with Buriganga. Awareness should be created among the people living in the vicinity of the river."

"It's not possible for the government alone to save Buriganga," he says. Everyone will have to come forward. The media also has a role to play to create pressure on the government and make people aware."

"The existence of Dhaka and its inhabitants is related to Buriganga. If Buriganga can be freed from pollution 1.2 crore inhabitants of the world's most expanding city will be saved. Therefore, saving Buriganga is everyone's demand," Dr Shahriar says.

-News Network