Although there are directives from the country’s highest court to save rivers, pollution and encroachment of rivers surrounding Dhaka continue unabated due to authorities’ inaction against polluters and failure of Dhaka WASA to manage the waste.
Dr Manjur Ahmed, chairman of National River Conservation Commission (NRCC), came up with the remarks in an interview with UNB.
“All the human waste produced in Dhaka city goes into the four rivers surrounding Dhaka city-Buriganga, Turag, Balu and Shitalakkhya. This happens due to Dhaka WASA’s failure to manage the waste. Human waste and rainwater go to the rivers through the same pipeline. It was WASA’s duty to set up separate pipes for proper flow of the wastes. They didn’t do so, and as a result rivers are getting polluted fast,” said Manjur.
Dhaka WASA’s failure to construct sufficient sewerage lines has created a disastrous situation, he said adding factories in and around Dhaka dispose of waste into the rivers surrounding the city. “Combination of household and industrial wastes has turned the rivers like Buriganga and Shitalakhya “ecologically dead”.
The NRCC chairman added that although a portion of the grabbed lands by the rivers have been recovered, pollution couldn’t be stopped as those responsible were not brought under the law.
“At least four crore people live in and around Dhaka city but there isn’t a single river or waterbody where people can bathe. Population density, unplanned development, withdrawal of water from the upstream and climate change are affecting the country’s rivers. As an organization working to conserve rivers, NRCC is acutely aware of these problems,” said Manjur.
About NRCC, Manjur said that the role of his organization is to identify the problems and provide recommendations to the concerned authorities.
“NRCC is relatively a new organization. Some recommendations made by us have already been implemented and others are pending with the authorities. So far, we’ve identified 57,000 river encroachers and evicted 14,000 of them with the help of the district administrations and Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA),” said Manjur.
On the demarcation of river boundaries, the NRCC chairman said that it’s a tough task.
“The boundaries of Buriganga, Turag and Balu rivers have already been demarcated. I hope that the rest of the rivers will also be demarcated gradually,” he said.
On the master plan that NRCC was preparing to save rivers, Manjur said that it is yet to be completed.
“The process of preparing the master plan was interrupted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I hope that we’ll be able to complete the master plan within a short time,” the NRCC chairman said.
He said his organization’s aim to put an end to pollution of the rivers surrounding Dhaka within March 17, 2023, which is the birth anniversary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
“We’ll provide directives to all the government and private establishments in Dhaka and adjacent areas to stop polluting the rivers surrounding the city very soon. Legal steps will be taken if anyone breaches the rules and fails to comply with the directives,” Manjur said.
