Sewage, effluent pollute Dhaka rivers at 577 spots: study

Disposal of untreated industrial effluent and domestic sewage pollutes the four rivers flowing around the capital at 577 spots, reveals a study carried out by Riverine Bangladesh in January. 

Spot visits by the study team in Dhaka, and parts of Narayanganj and Gazipur between November and January, found that 360 sewage connections and 217 canals and channels carry over 1.5 million cubic meters of sewage and effluent daily into the Buriganga, the Turag, the Balu and the Shitalakkhya.

Fifty-seven of these connections carry only untreated industrial effluent containing hazardous heavy metals and toxic chemicals into the Turag and the Balu from the industrial zone located between Ashulia in Dhaka and Tongi of Gazipur, according to the study titled ‘Sources of Water Pollution to the Rivers of Dhaka’, which has been officially accepted by the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority.   

The other connections, canals and channels dispose mixture of both of untreated effluent and domestic swage into the rivers, Riverine Bangladesh director Mohammad Azaz told New Age on Sunday.

In addition, solid wastes including huge volume of plastic are dumped into the rivers at 237 points and it also disrupt the connections of canals with the rivers, he said.

Azaz said that most of the industries located at Ashulia, Tongi and Shyampur areas discharged untreated effluent through ‘hidden channels’ bypassing their effluent treatment plants to reduce the production cost.

‘Only 20 per cent of the total effluent and domestic sewage generated from Dhaka is treated at the Pagla Sewage Treatment Plant,’ he said.

‘Disposal of a huge volume of untreated industrial and domestic effluent containing heavy metals, toxic chemicals and faecal sludge into the rivers every day polluted those to such a level where no aquatic life can survive,’ he said.

A detailed study is required for calculating total volume of effluent and sewage discharged into the rivers as the Riverine Bangladesh depended on some available data, Azaz said.

A World Bank commissioned study conducted by the Institute of Water Modelling in 2007 also found that the Buriganga was being polluted every day for disposal of huge volume of domestic and industrial effluents.

Apart from transferring the tannery industry from Hazaribagh to Savar, the responsible government agencies did nothing in the past 12 years for controlling river pollution, the greens said.

Even then transfer of tannery to Savar did not earn the expected result as it continued to pollute the Dhaleswari for lack of capacity of the central effluent treatment plant installed at the tannery park, locals and greens said.

For continuous pollution, no fish is found in the Buriganga, Turag, Balu and Shitalakkhya in the dry season, they said. Fishing communities also migrated from the areas and locals were exposed to various water-prone diseases as well as suffer from acute odour.

Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology and The Department of Environment data shows that the dissolved oxygen in the four Dhaka rivers dropped to zero in the dry period.

WASA authorities said their production cost for supplying water increased for heavy pollution of the Dhaka rivers.

‘The High Court directives passed in February 2019 for safeguarding the rivers from grabbing and pollution were grossly ignored,’ said Syeda Rizwana Hassan, executive director of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association.

‘Our development model is faulty where preventive measures are taken after damage is done by the powerful quarters,’ she said.

She blamed Dhaka WASA, Dhaka’s two city corporations, Department of Environment and district administrations of Dhaka, Narayanganj and Gazipur for their inaction.  

Dhaka South City Corporation mayor Sayeed Khokon said that pollution could not be controlled for inaction of Dhaka WASA.

Dhaka WASA managing director Taqsem A Khan said that the agency was working for developing a sewerage system in the capital. ‘Meanwhile, all the citizens need to use septic tanks in their households,’ he said.

The Department of Environment director general AKM Rafique Ahammed said that the agency was not equipped with sufficient workforce to enforce the laws.

Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association senior vice-president Mohammad Hatem admitted that many non-compliant factories did not use ETPs.

‘We requested the shipping ministry on several times for installing CETPs at different industrial zones and charge the factories for taking services,’ Hatem said.    

BIWTA member Nurul Alam said they installed two small treatment plants on their own cost at the port office in Sadarghat which would be inaugurated today.

‘Each of the plants costs only Tk 12.5 lakh,’ he said.

‘On March 9, we placed a Tk 50 crore project at the shipping ministry for installing such treatment plants at 48 points from Kamrangirchar to Sadarghat, covering outlets of two canals,’ he said.

If the project earns good result, Nurul said, the agency would place another project for installing treatment plants at all the points.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net