Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Table of Contents
1.0 1.1 1.2 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1 Origin of the Report ........................................................................................................................ 1 Objectives of the Report ............................................................................................................... 1 Primary Objective.................................................................................................................. 1 Secondary Objectives ............................................................................................................ 2
Scope of the Report ........................................................................................................................ 2 Limitations of the Report................................................................................................................ 2 Methodology ................................................................................................................................. 3 The Buriganga river system............................................................................................................... 4 The Current Situation ........................................................................................................................ 5 Causes of the pollution of Buriganga ................................................................................................ 7 History of the pollution ................................................................................................................. 7 Brief overview of the main sources .............................................................................................. 8 Industrial units ...................................................................................................................... 8 Domestic and solid wastes .................................................................................................. 10 Local vessels ........................................................................................................................ 12 Sedimentation ..................................................................................................................... 12 Encroachment ..................................................................................................................... 13
4.2.1 4.2.2 4.2.3 4.2.4 4.2.5 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3
Impacts on Environment Due to Buriganga River Pollution ........................................................... 14 Impacts stretching boundaries ................................................................................................... 16 Water use in question ................................................................................................................. 16 Impact on food chain .................................................................................................................. 18 Lust ends nowhere ...................................................................................................................... 19 Impacts on Economy Due to Buriganga River pollution ................................................................ 20 Scarcity of Clean Water ............................................................................................................... 20 Obliteration of Fisheries.............................................................................................................. 21 Navigation problem .................................................................................................................... 22
Reduction in Tourism Attractiveness ......................................................................................... 23 Steps Taken so far ........................................................................................................................... 24 Relocation of the Hazaribag tannery .......................................................................................... 24 Plan to Import water from Jamuna River ................................................................................... 26 Step taken by the previous caretaker government .................................................................... 27 Concern expressed by our lawyers ............................................................................................. 27 Works by Awareness Groups ...................................................................................................... 27 Recommendations .......................................................................................................................... 29
Executive summary
Bangladesh is a country renowned for the countless rivers that create an intricate network across it. These rivers are what make Bangladesh a very unique country of the South East region of the globe. One of the oldest and most well-known rivers is the Buriganga River. The River Buriganga is the life line of the Dhaka city and flanked in its southern side. However, very sadly this historic and mystic river has now been severely polluted by the uncontrolled sewerage effluent from the city.
This report looks into the major causes of pollution and concludes that nine industrial areas in and around Dhaka are mainly responsible for the current situation of the Buriganga River. The tanneries, dyeing mills, plastic and rubber product manufacturing plants and pesticide factories dump huge volumes of industrial effluent into the river daily. In addition to that the careless disposal of plastic bottles and containers, used batteries and polythene are also choking the river. Domestic wastes flow into this river causing further pollution. Dhaka Wasa happens to have just one sewage treatment plant and since this is not sufficient, most of the sewage ends up flowing down the Buriganga. The dumping of millions of tons of human and industrial waste has turned the water pitch black. It is not just the water that is being polluted; the noxious smells emanating from the toxic pollutants in the river also create massive air pollution.
This report found out that nearly four million people directly suffer the consequence of the poor water quality. These people are neither able to use this water for washing nor for irrigation. In fact, even fishing is not possible since the aquatic life is steadily declining due to the extensive water pollution. Shipping vessels plying the waters of the Buriganga also are very insensitive to this issue and they often spill lots of oil and other chemicals into the river. Encroachment of the river by the influential segment of the country is also a big threat to the river. Illegal structures including houses, bazaars, ports and brickfields are sprouting up on the river bank and hindering the river flow. The loss of course of the river results in a narrower river
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bed which makes the Buriganga more vulnerable to flooding. To prevent this, the river is often dredged but this causes the branching rivers and canals to dry up; ultimately, the land grabbers get more opportunity to construct illegal structures. All these are leading to the economic detriment of Bangladesh. The fisheries export industry and the tourism industry are badly suffering due to the pollution in the Buriganga. The report ends with a glance into the activities of non profit groups such as Save Buriganga which are trying to free the river from the clutches of industrial pollution and vicious land grabbers. The main thing that needs to be done is to relocate the tanneries further away from the river. Also, more efficient effluent treatment plants are urgently needed.
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1.0
Introduction
This part entails how the report has been originated, what this report attempts to unearth, the scope and limitation of the study, and lastly, how the data have been collected.
1.1
1.2
1.2.1
Primary Objective
Our prime goal is to gain a comprehensive insight into the current situation of the dying Buriganga river and find out ways to save it, while fulfilling the task given to us by Professor Amanat Ullah Khan, as a part of our Economics of Geography & Environment course. We aim to gain an in depth idea of the root causes of pollution in the Buringanga River and also of its impact in our lives.
1.2.2
Secondary Objectives
In order to fulfill the primary objectives, the secondary objectives are: to identify the major causes of pollution in the river to learn about encroachment on the banks of the river to find out how the pollution in the river is harming the locality of the Buriganga to find out how the pollution eventually leads to problems in the economy of Bangladesh to gain an insight into the steps taken by the government and also by not-for-profit organizations so far to save the Buriganga.
1.3
1.4
1.5
Methodology
The information used in this report has been collected completely from secondary sources. No primary sources were used since it was not deemed necessary to do so.
The internet was a main source of background information about the Buriganga River. It not only provided us with a background of the river but also provided us information regarding the current state of the river, the nature of the industries causing pollution, the vicious land grabbers and so on. Finally, the various websites also provided information regarding what should and should not be done if the river is to be protected. The links used for the purpose of this report include:
Newspaper articles and write-ups of eminent environmentalists from different magazines were also used. Articles from the Daily Star and other newspapers provided relevant quantitative and qualitative information.
2.0
Figure: The rivers around Dhaka The Buriganga is fed mainly by the Turag River, which receives flows from local rainfall and spill flows from the left bank of the Jamuna River. The Lakhya River drains a large catchment lying between the central forested areas and the Old Brahmaputra. Additional inflows to the system originate from the Balu, which drains a small catchment to the west
of the Lakhya, and from the Ichamati and Karnatali Rivers, which carry mainly spills from the Padma and Jamuna Rivers respectively. The lower reaches of the Dhaleswari-Buriganga-Lakhya system are tidal during the dry season when upstream inflows are minimal. Saline intrusion, however, does not take place.
3.0
clinical wastes, used batteries, plastic bottles and containers, and other discarded plastic materials and burnt oil into the river water.
Moreover locals and vessel operators randomly dump solid wastes into the BurigangaTurag system. Huge quantities of discarded polythene, household wastages and human
excrete causes hazard to the marine life and make the water lethal. They also dump the useless solid wastes of crushed materials into the river.
Figure: In the present scenario the river banks are occupied mostly by illegal structures.
Encroachment is a serious issue in Dhaka. Buriganga banks are often reclaimed and built upon. Politically backed influential land encroachers have created illegal structures on the river bank. This loss of river bank means a narrower river bed which exacerbates flooding. Authorities had launched several drives to free the Buriganga river bank from the illegal structures in the past. Arrests had been made, encroached structures destroyed but in the end the loopholes of the system allow the land grabbers to come back again and resettle in the illegal territory.
4.1
planner Patrick Geddes made a master plan for Dhaka City including the Buriganga River in 1917. The then administration also made some plans to save Buriganga from the grasp of ongoing pollution caused by domestic sewage. However, the pollution of the river was at a tolerable level till the Pakistani period. But after Liberation, the pollution exceeded all limits because of encroachment, unplanned urbanization and establishment of polluting industries in the city. Water pollution has taken so devastating a turn that the river has become intolerably contaminated and lifeless.
4.2
The main causes of the pollution can undoubtedly be linked to the indiscriminate dumping of refuse by the numerous industrial units on the banks of the Buriganga. More than 7,000 units of industries for textiles, metals, chemicals, rubber, pharmaceuticals, cement, leather, pulp, paperboards, fertilizer, food processing, and petroleum refining in the city area are discharging 1.3 million cubic metres of untreated industrial effluents in the rivers, an outstanding violation of the Environment Conservation Rule 1997. The Institute of Water Modeling (IWM), a government established trust has identified four industrial clusters and many other small zones as the major pollutants of BurigangaTurag rivers. Of these clusters the hydrologists identify tanneries as the biggest polluters. About 500 tanneries including 200 large units in Hazaribagh are discharging 4.75 million litres of a variety of extremely toxic wastes into the river. On top of this 95 metric tones of solid and hazardous wastes including trimmings of finished leather, shaving dusts, hair, fleshing, trimming of raw hides and skins are also dumped in the area's open drains every year.
The Hazaribagh tannery complex and other industries, primarily the glue and paint
industries in
the same general location, have affected water and air quality in the large poorly drained area locked behind a nine meters high flood control embankment constructed in 1989-1990 in southwest Dhaka City. Up until the time of embankment construction, the contaminants were washed to the Buriganga river by annual flooding. At present, the existing sewage outfalls, the
sewage lift operations consisting of 16 pumps and local residential drains are not adequate to properly and efficiently remove all the waste products generated by the factories and population of the area. This is partly a maintenance problem but an environmental problem has been created by the discharging of wastewater with excessively high solids content and a dangerous level of chromium among other heavy metals and toxic materials. Beginning in late 2000 an unknown quantity of the tannery effluent which previously had remained in stagnant waters and drains in the lowlands behind the Dhaka Flood Protection Embankment was being released through large underground pipes into the Buriganga River at Katasur near the Rayerbazar memorial. Tannery solid wastes have accumulated in the sludge deposits of drains since the construction of the
Figure: Chemical effluents entering river water
embankment.
However, these drains are flushed during the rainy season, the sludge being carried along as suspended sediment. During the dry season the area is submerged by tannery wastewater and the contaminated wastewater pond areas are now approximately 8-10 times larger than that of the pre-embankment period. It is quite possible that toxic sludge is accumulating on the bottom of the large ponds where it is unlikely to be pumped out. The glue and paint industries also create pollutants which affect this area. No effort has been made to distinguish the impact of these two industries. There is a lesser problem related to the disposal of household wastes as only 32 per cent of local residences are connected to the sewer system.
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United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) notes that the chrome containing sludge and solid waste, especially fleshing wastes, that is generated by the tanneries at Hazaribagh is collected by Dhaka City Corporation and is dumped in the landfills. This is shifting the pollution problem to the outskirts of the city. Moreover, the chrome containing solid wastes of wet-blue trimmings and shavings is often incinerated in the tannery boiler oven, resulting in the release of hexavalent chrome containing particles in the air. Moreover, the geologists have found hazardous heavy metals in the underground area of tanneries, since sludge, containing heavy metals, are not of disposed properly. Health experts claim such polluting agents have every possibility of creating cancerous diseases. Besides, there are many small units on both sides of Buriganga between BangladeshChina Friendship Bridge 1 and 2, mainly located at Babubazar, Jinjira, Kaliganj, Postagola and Shyampur. There are small shipyards, dyeing units and small industries at these areas that discharge untreated washing and clinical wastes, used batteries, plastic bottles and containers, and other discarded plastic materials and burnt oil into the river water. They also dump the useless solid wastes of crushed materials into the river. Most of the industries do not have any treatment facility for wastewaters. Treatment plants possessed by a few industries, however, do not operate regularly. While most of the industries discharge wastewater into drains or canals, which ultimately fall into nearby water courses. Some of the industries dump the wastewater directly on the ground. Some of them, situated by the side of rivers, discharge their wastewaters into the rivers through underground/concealed pipes, which are not visible from the land or water surface.
4.2.2 Domestic and solid wastes
As mentioned before, Discarding domestic wastes and solid wastes into the Buriganga has been a common practice amongst the city dwellers since the Mughal period. Even after couple of centuries, government agencies such as Rajdhani Unnyan Kartripakkha (RAJUK), Dhaka City Corporation (DCC), Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA), Department of Environment (DoE) Bangladesh Inland Water Transport
10
Authority (BIWTA) and Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) have failed to stop disposal of solid wastes and domestic wastes into the river bodies. Several studies show that, each day about 900 cubic meters untreated domestic and industrial effluents are discharged into the Buriganga-Turag system. Dhaka WASA has only one sewage treatment plant at Pagla with a capacity of 0.12 million cubic metres per day, which is only 10 percent of the total disposal of sewage. But plagued by system loss and mismanagement, the treatment plant is operating at one third of its capacity. Industrial waste should not be allowed to enter the domestic sewage network as it interferes with treatment plants. As a result, Buriganga and other rivers and canals are Dhaka's main outlet of sewage waste. Statistics say, up to 80 percent of Dhaka's untreated sewage is drained in Buriganga-Turag channel. Each day a huge volume of domestic waste of the entire area from Gazipur to Munshiganj, is discharged into Turag-Buriganga rivers. Every day tons of wastes are dumped into the river along the riverbanks between Kamrangir Char Bridge and the second Buriganga Bridge.
Figure: Industrial waste, followed by municipal and domestic wastes account for 60% of river pollution
There are also 300 brick kilns around draining their wastes into the river. Industrial waste accounts for 60 per cent of the river's pollution, followed by municipal waste. Even hospital waste is dumped into this river. River transportation contributes in a small way. Only the annual monsoon replenishes the river but very slightly. Experts say pollutionfree water contains around seven milligram dissolved oxygen and the level must not fall
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lower than 4.0 milligram. In some parts of the river the level of dissolved oxygen was found to be near zero, what is technically known as biological oxygen demand is ten times higher than normal in the Buriganga waters.
4.2.3 Local vessels
Local vessel operators indiscriminately dump solid wastes into the Buriganga, completely disregarding the DCC laws. BIWTA sources confirm that they get huge quantities of discarded polythene deposited beneath the water during dredging. The materials from breaking of buildings of the riverbanks also add hazardous substances into the river. There are many other offenders abusing the river. Innumerable mechanized trawlers and vessels ply in the rivers of Dhaka. Ignorance about the adverse environmental effects of dumping waste materials from the vessels such as solid wastes and burnt oil and BIWTA's lack of stringent laws against such dumping as well as lack enforcement have all contributed to the pollution.
Figure: Local vessels that ply on the Buriganga are one of the main polluters 4.2.4 Sedimentation
In the dry season, due to the sedimentation upstream, the flow of Buriganga-Turag system gets cut off. The hydrologists and engineers of Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) inform that the flow of water at that time is next to zero. During this
12
period of time the system mainly carries sewage and industrial effluents. Therefore sedimentation indirectly contributes to the increase in river water pollution. Sedimentation could be caused by means both natural and man-made. Sedimentation can be caused by man-made non-biodegradable materials like polythene. A recent survey found that a polythene stratum measuring about 10 feet in thickness was embedded under a certain stretch of the Buriganga. The river remains terribly polluted from domestic and industrial wastes and the polythene makes it worse, especially given the shallowness of the river. River dredging can be a viable solution to this problem. But this requires high investment and most importantly the Governments interest, to come onto effect.
4.2.5 Encroachment
Encroachment has always been a big threat to rivers consuming the banks and narrowing them further and further. Politically backed influential land encroachers have created illegal structures including houses, bazaars, ghats (port), brickfields etc. on the river that has created obstacles on the flow of the river. Construction of unauthorized structures on the banks of the Buriganga is going on unabated. Drives conducted at different times failed to keep the banks free from encroachment due to the absence of sustainable measures. The encroachers keep returning and have reconstructed about 200 structures which were demolished earlier, grabbing about 50 acres of land.
In a recent survey, the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) identified 326 illegal structures, 50 per cent of which were demolished earlier during several drives conducted by the BIWTA and district administration. The government taskforce that was formed to save the Buriganga recommended immediate cancellation of all leases of land on its banks and a stop to future leases.
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There is a need for creating a powerful body to free the rivers from the
clutches of
the encroachers and polluters, instead of having so many non- functional ornamental bodies. There should be sufficient scope for devising ways and means so that the land or water bodies, once recovered from the land grabbers, cannot be recaptured. The land grabbers, through their illegal settlements have blocked up the natural passage of the river water. Other than the encroachment, the land grabber also pollute the river indiscriminately, disposing waste materials, both sewerage and effluents, into the water.
5.0
14
water, ground water of Hazaribag is getting polluted. The contamination of Buriganga is threatenning the existence of three other rivers Turag, Balu & Shitalakhya. Several environmental processes are involved with the Buriganga. Its pollution is harming the surrounding agricultural and aquatic environment. The deteriorating condition of the river is also having an impact on the people living in its banks and depending on it for a living.
The pressures on the river and their state and impacts are tabulated in the table below:
Pressures Pollution : Industrial effluent Domestic sewage Faecal pollution Oil spill Encroachment Sand extraction
State Impacts Decreasing inland Pressure on water water quality in source dry season Fish mortality and Declining fish decline on quality population of fish Decreasing Degradation of vegetation fish habitat Increasing river Yield reduction unpredictability Increase in risk from water borne diseases Marine aquatic life affected River bank erosion, changes of river courses, navigable channels.
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5.1
Disposal of such untreated industrial waste is gradually destroying aquatic environments of the river and this in turn is affecting peoples health. Millions of cubic metres of toxic waste from the Hazaribagh tanneries and thousands of other industries, topped with a huge volume of untreated sewage from the city, now remain almost stagnant within the river water. The situation is set to continue until a new flow of water rushes in from the upstream.
5.2
The fetid smell of the river water has made it unsuitable for drinking and other purposes. As a result there is a shortage of water source. People living along the river are the worst victims of the pollution.
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The river water is no longer healthy to drink. Analysis of surface water shows that the level of dissolved oxygen in the river water is too low or sometimes non-existent as the toxic effluents are discharged into the river. The toxic quotient of the river exceeds tolerable limits in the months of January and February. The seasonal variation of water quality in the Buriganga is linked with seasonal variation of water flow and the operation of the tanneries. The seasonality of flow in the watercourses from the river constitutes a significant constraint to its ability to dilute and disperse effluent discharged into it. So as already mentioned, the pollutants sometimes stay for a long time in the same place in the river in concentrated form unless water from upstream does not flush them away thus harming the overall water quality.
The river water hardly satisfies the quality parameter set by the Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) thus showing the unsuitability of the water to be used for irrigation, bathing, and washing of household items. The tube wells for drinking water is also inappropriate to use due to groundwater pollution. Concentration of dissolved heavy metals such as chromium and iron in the groundwater is forcing the inhabitants to rely on expensive alternative water supply.
Figure: Even though the water is too filthy some have no choice but to use it
Thousands of water transport workers, working on the passenger and cargo vessels in Sadarghat, are forced to bring water from the river Meghna and Dhaleswari for washing. Unable to take a bath or wash clothes for days, many of them have even begun to suffer from various diseases. The washermen too have their share of problems because of river pollution. Those living near the Buriganga struggle to wash clothes in the river during the dry season as the water become too filthy. Even so, some washermen have no choice but to wash the clothes in such dirty water.
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The scenario is even bleaker in the villages along the river, in the upstream of the Buriganga. Hundreds of thousands of families living in Zinzira, Kholamora, Kamrangirchar, Jhaochar, Modhyerchar, Wasspur, Basila and Looterchar face a severe water crisis for at least six months a year. Dependent on the river for generations, this population has been cut off from using the river water. They are now forced to travel miles to get water for their daily chores. However, the slum inhabitants in the tanneries have to use the water from Buriganga for bathing, washing and sometimes drinking. Nobody knows how much harm and potential carcinogen diseases will occur to them. They are already the victims of several water bred diseases like dysentery, diarrhoea, cholera and shigella food poisoning. Owing to the direct disposal of city and industrial sewage into Buriganga, faecal pollution has become prominent. Diseases like cholera and diarrhoea are transmitted by faecal contamination of water. People living in slums around the city use these contaminated water for all recreational
purpose and this results in spreading of water-borne and skin diseases. The pollutants are stagnant in the river since the water flow is low in the river except during monsoons. This stagnancy
the spread of vector borne diseases like malaria, dengue hemorrhagic fever and filariasis.
5.3
fish and other marine animals such as river dolphins to get infected. Because oil floats on top of water, less light penetrates into the water, limiting the photosynthesis of marine plants and phytoplankton. This endangers the flora and fauna of Buriganga and also affects the food chain in the ecosystem. Oil spills and toxins from pollutants have reduced the fish population in the river. There has been degradation of the fish habitat and thus a decline in the quality of fish. Fishes are found rotting in the river adding to the unbearable stench. This reduced yield of fish has affected many fishermen, who live in the banks of Buriganga, economically. Also consumption of the contaminated fish is causing dangerous diseases such as food poisoning and other gastro intestinal diseases, especially among the poorer section. Agricultural lands in the villages around the river have become barren. The river water used for irrigation is responsible for this. The water has dissolved heavy metal and other toxins that kills plantation. As a result when the poisonous water has been used for irrigation it has destroyed vegetation and has made the land unproductive for further agricultural activity. This has harmed the inhabitants socially as well as economically.
5.4
The river beds loss of course means a narrower bed which exacerbates flooding. In an effort to reduce flooding, the river is often dredged. Ironically this results in the branching rivers and canals drying up which are subjected to further land grabbing. One more recent problem is the officials allowing sand traders to extract much more sand than the permitted quantity from riverbeds in the capital, an act that is threatening the channels and courses of the citys rivers and the densely populated localities along their banks the sand traders are extracting with powerful dredgers in massive amounts. Unscientific sand extraction from the riverbeds not only makes the rivers extremely unpredictable but also destroys their courses, navigable channels and environment. The unscrupulous removal of sand from the river bed is causing serious threat of river bank erosion affecting the security of the inhabitants.
6.0
6.1
But due to both industrial and domestic waste dumping, water in Buriganga is so polluted that, even after treatment with required chemicals, it is not completely free of ammonia. According to WASA sources, water treatment plants along the river Buriganga are unable to treat the thoroughly polluted water of the river and as such, some residents cannot use its water for drinking purpose. The Sayedabad water treatment plant, which in normal circumstances produces 228 million litres of water, has now been reduced to a state where there is a shortfall in the supply of water by as much as 60 million litres. So scarcity of water is highly plausible with current scenario of massive pollution in Buriganga and other surrounding rivers. More surface water treatment plants have to be built to keep up with the demand for water. So pollution is hurting the economy by constraining sources for water which eventually results in greater costs.
6.2
Obliteration of Fisheries
Liquid waste is contaminating the waters of the Buriganga River on the surface as well as the ground water resource base. During the lean season, the Buriganga River turns deadly for fish and other sub aquatic organisms. The Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) also reflects the pollution rate of water. It depicts the capability of water to destroy germs and the lower the BOD the less polluted the water is. According to a study by BUET Civil Department in January, 2007, BOD in the water of Buriganga at Hazaribarg area is 28, which indicates extremely polluted water. When solid waste and effluents run into the river, the Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) in the water rises, creating oxygen is calamitous for the sub aqueous life.
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In fact the water of the Buriganga has become so polluted that its aquatic life has almost been ruined. Effluents of tannery factories lower the dissolved oxygen (DO) content of the river water below the critical level of four milligrams per liter. In some parts of the river the level of dissolved oxygen was found to be near zero (unsuitable for aquatic life). It is feared that these natural resources are in decline (in both diversity and the number) prospects thus for
jeopardizing
Figure: Aquatic life in Buriganga has become almost non-existant due to pollution
sustainable development.
Most of the local fishermen have already abandoned their livelihood due to fish deficiency in the river. Trade of fish revolving around Buriganga is virtually destroyed resulting in deteriorated local economy.
6.3
Navigation problem
The Buriganga and her mother river Dhaleswari connect Dhaka to the other rivers and through them with almost all the districts of Bangladesh. Sadarghat, a large quay on the river Buriganga, is the gateway to the capital city from the southern districts of the country. It is the countrys main waterway for trading and ferry travel.
22
But due to the current situation of severe waste dumping in the river large steamers can no longer through the river channels during dry seasons. Due to gradual sedimentation in the Buriganga river system, the conveyance capacities of the channels have decreased and consequently the navigation drafts have been reduced.
6.4
Figure: Pollution has marred the beauty of the once mighty Buriganga
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7.0
7.1
project, all tannery industries will be relocated to Savar from the city's Hazaribagh area and waste treatment plants will be set up to save the environment from further pollution. To implement the project, the BSCIC acquired 200 acres of land in Savar and started development of the land in 2007. Of the total amount, Tk 1.0 billion was earmarked for development of land and other facilities for the tannery industries, while Tk 700 million for setting up the waste treatment plants and other works. Hazaribagh is home to almost 200 tanneries, which produce several thousand tonnes of toxic wastes and industrial effluents daily, causing environmental pollution and exposing the city population to great public health risks. A total of 195 industrial plots will be developed on 145 acres of land and the remaining 55 acres will be used for construction of roads, BSCIC offices, hospital, and mosque. BSCIC will develop four types of industrial plots -- A, B, C and S. A three-member UNIDO team visited Bangladesh in November 1996, to see the overall situation of industrial waste treatment and management. They visited Hazaribagh tannery industries, the Buriganga River and exchanged views with the people concerned, including government officials about the possible solution to the problem. In its report, the UNIDO suggested the government to take up a plan for pollution control and treatment of tannery effluents at Hazaribagh. Other UNIDO suggestions included
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installation of Chromium Recovery and Reuse Unit (CRRU) at each tannery and setting up of a Central Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) Although the government is persuading the tannery owners to start shifting their factories from Hazaribagh to Savar, most of them are reluctant to relocate their plants as a central effluent treatment plant (CETP) has not yet been built at Savar. A High Court order is also pending on the proposed CEPT. Besides, most of the commercial banks are refusing to transfer the existing mortgages in Hazaribagh to the new sites at Savar.
However according to owners, it is not possible to start shifting before such problems regarding CETP and its establishment is resolved. Moreover, they say moving to Savar leather estate without a CETP is the same as staying at Hazaribagh. The issue of compensation for relocation costs should also be considered before the shifting, especially in the light of losses to the industry due to global economic recession, they added.
Approximately more than 200 plots have been allocated so far to 154 tannery owners to date. All the tanneries in Hazaribagh received orders from the High Court to leave the area by February 28, 2010. The court also ordered all industries to set up effluent treatment plants by June the same year. As per the ruling of the bench, factories polluting the environment would either have to install ETPs or suitable devices within June 2010 or would be closed in July that year. The bench also asked the Home Secretary, Inspector General of Police and Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner to provide the authorities concerned with sufficient logistics and police forces to close the eco-unfriendly industries. The court said it would continue proceedings of the case until its directives to prevent environmental pollution are implemented. Indeed, the government's inaction in installing a waste treatment plant has been delaying the relocation of the leather industries. It was scheduled to hand over the industrial estate to the tanners by 2010 as per agreement. Reports say escalation of project cost by almost five times is the main cause of delay in the project work. The complex procedure for inviting fresh tender for CETP is taking too long. The government had prepared the first
25
project proposal in 2003. According to the proposal, the estimated cost of the three-year project was Tk 1.75 billion that increased to Tk 5.45 billion in the revised proposal in 2007. In 2003, Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC), Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather Goods and Footwear Exporters' Association (BFLLFEA) and Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA) signed a tripartite agreement to implement the project. The government took the decision to relocate Hazaribagh tanneries to Savar to save the capital and Buriganga river from toxic pollution caused by industrial wastes. The bleak outlook of the project is underscored by its cost escalation; what started out as an estimated cost of Tk 1.75 billion is set to escalate now by Tk 1.87 billion. As the present site for relocation stands on the eastern bank of the river'' Dhaleshwari, near Tetulia of Savar, about 20 km. upstream of Dhaka. The planned CETP will discharge about 21000 cubic meter of waste water in to the river. As the Dhaleshwari river lies upstream of the Buriganga, the wastewater will virtually enter the Buriganga and again its water will be polluted. It is said that millions of Dollars are earned by exporting leather and leather goods. On the other hand, we might be losing 1000 times more worth fishes killed in Buriganga and other rivers. This is a grave problem which needs to be attended to immediately.
7.2
26
part of Keraniganj, an integrated buffer of a khal and forest will be produced to protect the entire settlement and agricultural field.
7.3
7.4
7.5
Save rivers, save Dhaka, a joint initiative taken by Channel I and The Daily Star seems to be promising. It also generates hope seeing that awareness groups have taken strong initiatives like Rally for Rivers to change our miserable plight.
Figure: A boat procession was organized on August, 5th 2000 by the Save Buriganga Movement recently to protect the lifeline of the city from pollution and encroachment.
About 500 representatives from 65 organizations and institutions on August, 5th 2000 brought out a colorful boat procession on the Buriganga carrying banners and shouting slogans for saving the river from pollution and encroachments. The procession was organized by the Save Buriganga Movement, launched recently following reports of indiscriminate encroachments and pollution of the river. POROSH, an organization working for protection of the environment led the Movement. Their demand included immediate removal of the massive encroachment and removal of the other encroachments nearby. Leaders of the movement including AMA Muhith of POROSH, Prof. Mozaffar Ahmed and Dr.Wahiduddin Mahmud of Dhaka University who vowed to continue the fight till the river is freed from encroachments and pollution. Khushi Kabir of ADAB was also present. The organizations and Institutions which participated In the procession include ADAB, ARMCO & ANANDA, BASA, BAWPA, Dhaka University, Jagannath University College, NEAB, PRATYASHA, Nagorik Samaj, Rotary Club Dhaka, Mid town, SEED, WVA, DORP, Design Vision, FEMA and TMSS. Nirveek, an organization which works on environment, held a boat rally and formed a human chain on the bank of Shitalakhha at Hajiganj Ghat in Narayanganj in 9th May 2009 to press home its demand to save Buriganga and Shitalakhya river.Cross section of people joined the human chain held at the west side of Shitalakhha River.
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Recommendations
It is strongly recommended that heavy penalties be imposed not only on the guilty factory owners but also on the inspectors who have been recalcitrant in performing their duties. Here is an opportunity for the government and the Anti-Corruption Commission to demonstrate that they are agents of change and that they believe in good governance. The next step should be to re-locate the tanneries away from Dhaka. This might require two to three years but needs to be undertaken on a priority basis through public-private partnership and in a comprehensive manner. Most of the European Union (EU) counties are set to pass new policies that will bar import of products from industries that pollute environment with harmful chemical agents and do not have individual or central effluent plant. As such, the shifting should be completed as early as possible keeping in mind the impending EU legislation, or else it would hurt the export-oriented industry. The government contended that the construction work of the basic infrastructure and sewerage has already been completed. It is going to float a fresh tender soon for setting up the CETP. In any way, the relocation process has to be accelerated. All procedures to invite the fresh tender should be expedited. In order to save the industry from impending losses, the tannery owners should start the preliminary stages of shifting without further delay. The relevant officials in the Dhaka City Corporation responsible for solid waste management, sewerage, sanitation and hygiene are taken to task for their inefficiency. There is prevalence of corruption in this sector also. There have been many reports in the print media about lack of observance of rules and regulations by clinics in disposing of their used articles. This is leading not only to contamination but also to the spread of diseases. Such conditions are unwanted and should not be tolerated. The concerned departments of health, LGRD and the environment, in association with the Dhaka City Corporation, should undertake an integrated effort to identify the problem spots and then remove them. One measure could be to create an environmental police
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force to monitor and assure effective implementation of regulations. The cost of creating and maintaining such an outfit could be met from the municipal tax paid to the Dhaka City Corporation and the sewerage tax paid to Wasa The effective but cheap purification approach based on chlorine gas, known as ETP (Effluent Treatment Plant) operation, provides an opportunity for both the industry and DoE to perform in a win-win situation. Heavy penalties should be imposed on the guilty factory owners and the recalcitrant officials in the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC), responsible for solid waste management, sewerage, sanitation and hygiene for their inefficiency and corruption. Illegal occupiers on both sides of the river should be evicted for good; the recovered and filled areas dug or dredged up and integrated in the river channel. All this should be done successively, even simultaneously where necessary, to avoid any let up in the process of restoring full life and shape to the river. After restoring free flow, no structure of any kind other than terminal points for boats and launches should be allowed on either side of the river all along the stretch of the city and beyond. Both the banks should be secured and beatified with a tree-lined moderately wide road all along, if necessary further removing some structures falling in its path.
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