sun photo Buriganga river, the lifeline of Dhaka is lifeless. The Buriganga has turned into a dead river due to continued grabbing and pollution over the four decades after independence. Everyday structures is being erected somewhere occupying the land of this river. As a result the width of the river is shrinking and its course of flow is reducing. Every moment dreadful wastes that pollute water are being dumped into the river. In the major part of Buriganga there is no fish. The water of this river has become unusable long ago. Even one cannot take breath standing on the bank of the river. It is difficult to stand around due to the stink of water. Leaders of environmentalist organizations and civil society said that the Buriganga will get back life again if the government undertakes long term plan to save the river. If it is done the communications between Dhaka and Keraniganj will also be strengthened. Construction of several bridges and widening of road will allow Dhaka to get rid off pressure. Outskirt Keraniganj will also turn into a modern city. A bad name which Dhaka earned as a dirty city will be removed. The grabbers captured a portion of Buriganga changing its shape. Area of the river has shrunk. An on-the –spot visit shows a spectacle of massive grabbing of the river here and there. Over 500 illegal structures have been built on the river bank covering an area of Kholamora, Zinzira, Kaliganj, Pargendaria, Hasanabad and Kamrangirchar. A section of unscrupulous persons are engaged in sand-lifting and accumulating on the river bank ranges between Aganagar and Hasanabad. Huge volume of sand is being unloaded from lighter vessels with the river being filled consequently. Innumerable markets and shops are constructed on the river bank. Some portions of Rifat Tower, Rafik Tower and Ahsanullah Market at Chowdhurynagar and Alam Market at Aganagar were demolished. But the structures are being constructed again. Construction of some structures is underway at Bat Tota area adjacent to Zinzira in Keraniganj. The area underneath Babubazar Bridge has gone under the capture of illegal grabbers. A man named Wahab is allegedly constructing a high-rise grabbing the river at Telghat area. Over 100 illegal structures were constructed occupying the either banks of Buriganga at Khejurbagh. On the other hand, Wahid member is allegedly engaged in illegal brick and sand business under the Postagola Bridge at Shyampur. The water of Buriganga has turned into poison. A statement of boatman is enough to understand the situation. Sardar Md Badruddin, a boatman of Keraniganj Thanaghat, said “Buriganga water is totally chemical. It is no more a river. I have been operating boat and catching fish from childhood. The river was source of bread and butter to hundreds of fishermen. The water was crystal clear. Later, the tannery effluent rendered the river water toxic chemical. There is no insect, let alone fish here. People cannot come across the river due to stink.” Experts say fish and other aquatic organism cannot survive if water does not have 5 milligram dissolved oxygen. The ratio in Buriganga water has come to the edge of “zero.” A study of Poribesh Bachao Andolion (Poba) found ratio of dissolved oxygen is below 1 ml in per litre water in nine places. Such areas include Chadnighat, Sadarghat terminal, Soarighat, Dhulaikhal and Pagla Bazar. Around 0.40ml dissolved oxygen is found in per litre water in Sadarghat, 0.38ml in Dhulaikhal, 0.55ml in Postagola Cremation Ghat, 0.62ml in ebb of Shyampur canal, 0.33ml in the ebb of Pagla WASA treatment plant outer drain and 0.30ml at Pagla Bazar. Besides, power of hydrogen (pH) is 10.32 at water-fall in river and 09.99ml at the delta of canal. It indicates the presence of acid is alarmingly high in the water. Learnt from an investigation, per day about 21,000 cubic metre unrefined wastes are being dumped into the river Buriganga from the Hazaribagh tannery industrial area. These wastes are carrying chromium, lead, sulfuric acid and rotten flesh of animals. These liquid and hard poisonous wastes of the tanneries are polluting water of river Buriganga and soil on the bank of the river and the air. The statistics revealed that the amount of sewerage wastes of the capital is 13 lakh cubic metre. Of them, only 50,000 cubic metre of sewerage wastes are refined at the WASA refining centre at Pagla in Narayanganj and rest of the wastes are dumped into the river directly. It is learnt that most of the water of Sadarghat, Lalbagh, Soarighat, Kamrangirchar, Shahidnagar, Amlipara and Chandighat areas of the capital is ‘liquid ash’. Besides, WASA and tannery wastes, river water is being polluted by industrial wastes located on the bank of the river, kitchen markets wastes and wastes exuded from the launch and steamer. A large number of sewerage wastes are dumped into the Buriganga river through a number of pipes due to negligence of Dhaka City Corporation. There are 107 pollution points from Sadarghat to Ashulia. Of them, the remarkable points are Gabtoli cattle market, Apple Enterprise, Base Tech Limited, NDO, Pubasha Kitchen Market, tannery, Dhaka WASA and Mitford Hospital. 57 pollution points have been detected from Sadarghat to Fatulla BG Mouth. Of them, Dhaka WASA is dumping wastes by using 22 pollution points. Textile, dying, printing and washing factories are dumping 60,000 litre liquid wastes into the river everyday. Abu Naser Khan, Chairman of Paribesh Bachao Andolan (PABA) told this correspondent, “The main cause of the river Buriganga pollution is that some 1500 tannery factories of the capital are dumping their chemical wastes to the river directly. The owners of the tannery factories did not care movement of environmentalist and court verdict. Government did not take any measure against the owners of the tannery factories because the sector is a big source of revenue earning of the government. It is learnt that in the face of local and foreign pressure, tannery owners of the country took an initiative to shift their factories to Savar between March and June, 2015. They said that largest revenue earning sector will be destroyed if the government does not provide compensation worth Tk 250 crore to them. Abu Taher, President of BFLLFIA told this correspondent, “Besides the government, European Union, China, South Korea including buyers of different countries are pressuring us to manufacture environment-friendly leather, shoes and leather goods otherwise they will not purchase leather, shoes and leather goods from Bangladesh from 2015.” Environmentalist organizations and civil bodies said long term plan on Buriganga River would change the overall look of Dhaka city. For example, in order to reduce pressure from New York City, the United States constructed bridge on East River connecting two cities Manhattan and Long Island. Owing to this plan, these cities have become two important cities of the country. If bridges are made on Buriganga River as like as the river on East River, the setting of Dhaka city will be changed. President of ‘Durnibar Bangladesh’ Masud Parvez said, “Following developed countries, if Hatirjheel are made in the midst of Dhaka city, then why won’t it be possible to make a mega plan concentrating Buriganga River. Constructing wide road in the two sides of the River and couple of bridges would change both the Dhaka and Keraniganj. It will also explore the extent of Dhaka city. If do so, not only it will reduce pressure from Dhaka city, but will open a new window for business centering Keraniganj which will contribute the development of country’s economy.”
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