World Environment Day observed

Pollution cloud intensifies

It is one of life's little ironies that the nation—even though it is being stifled by pollution triggered by untreated wastes and pesticides—observed World Environment Day yesterday amid a bleak scenario on the environmental front. Unabated dumping of clinical and industrial wastes into the country's rivers, along with chemicals released by vessels, have  choked them with extreme pollution. Experts lamented the lack of a treatment plant to treat the daily sewage. Excessive use of low-quality and adulterated pesticides are also causing serious health hazards, as they are passed on to the consumers through the food chain, they said. Besides, land sharks across the country are busy developing plots by grabbing multi-crop farmlands and wetlands  across the country. This is damaging food security and putting the environment in great peril.
Experts alleged that the Department of Environment (DoE) is not playing its role in protecting the country’s wetlands and farmlands from pollution by applying the DoE Act. They said about 8,000 tonnes of untreated solid wastes and around 14 lakh cubic metre of sewage are being dumped directly into the waterbodies daily of Dhaka. Farmlands and wetlands around the four rivers—the Turag, the Buriganga, the Balu and the Shitalakhya—are being occupied by different housing development companies and industrial owners, they added.
“The DoE cannot only be a awareness-building organisation. It's the sole authority to implement the Environment Conservation Act to protect the country’s farmlands, ecology, waterbodies and environment from pollution,” Abdus Sobhan, general secretary of Poribesh Bachao Andalan (POBA), told The Independent yesterday.
He said most water vessels are run by diesel. “Every vessel should have a conservatory to preserve solid wastes as per the shipping law. Launches regularly discharge diesel into the rivers,” he added.
Untreated poisonous wastes are being dumped indiscriminately into waterbodies and farmlands directly from industrial units, tanneries, hospitals, clinics, water vessels and households across the country. This is posing a great threat to health and pure water, Abdus Sobhan said. He also said that fertlisers, brick kilns and pesticides are causing air pollution as well.
When asked, DoE officials claimed that they are unable to implement the law due to lack of adequate manpower.
“We've offices in only 21 out of the 64 districts. The DoE needs more manpower to take action against the culprits,” Kazi Sarwar Imtiaz Hashmi, additional director general (ADG) of DoE, told this correspondent. He said the DoE is contemplating installing a wastes-identifying device in every industrial unit.
However, the government is yet to formulate the “Agricultural Land Protection and Land Zoning Act”, even though work on it started in way back in 2010.
Of the total land area of 14.4 million hectares in Bangladesh, about 66.6 per cent is still available for cultivation.  About 7.20 million hectares of farmland have already been gobbled up by land sharks in the past 40 years, according to land ministry sources.

 

World Environment Day observed

Pollution cloud intensifies

It is one of lifes little ironies that the nationeven though it is being stifled by pollution triggered by untreated wastes and pesticidesobserved World Environment Day yesterday amid a bleak scenario on the environmental front. Unabated dumping of clinical and industrial wastes into the countrys rivers, along with chemicals released by vessels, have choked them with extreme pollution. Experts lamented the lack of a treatment plant to treat the daily sewage. Excessive use of low-quality and adulterated pesticides are also causing serious health hazards, as they are passed on to the consumers through the food chain, they said. Besides, land sharks across the country are busy developing plots by grabbing multi-crop farmlands and wetlands across the country. This is damaging food security and putting the environment in great peril. Experts alleged that the Department of Environment (DoE) is not playing its role in protecting the countrys wetlands and farmlands from pollution by applying the DoE Act. They said about 8,000 tonnes of untreated solid wastes and around 14 lakh cubic metre of sewage are being dumped directly into the waterbodies daily of Dhaka. Farmlands and wetlands around the four riversthe Turag, the Buriganga, the Balu and the Shitalakhyaare being occupied by different housing development companies and industrial owners, they added. The DoE cannot only be a awareness-building organisation. Its the sole authority to implement the Environment Conservation Act to protect the countrys farmlands, ecology, waterbodies and environment from pollution, Abdus Sobhan, general secretary of Poribesh Bachao Andalan (POBA), told The Independent yesterday. He said most water vessels are run by diesel. Every vessel should have a conservatory to preserve solid wastes as per the shipping law. Launches regularly discharge diesel into the rivers, he added. Untreated poisonous wastes are being dumped indiscriminately into waterbodies and farmlands directly from industrial units, tanneries, hospitals, clinics, water vessels and households across the country. This is posing a great threat to health and pure water, Abdus Sobhan said. He also said that fertlisers, brick kilns and pesticides are causing air pollution as well. When asked, DoE officials claimed that they are unable to implement the law due to lack of adequate manpower. Weve offices in only 21 out of the 64 districts. The DoE needs more manpower to take action against the culprits, Kazi Sarwar Imtiaz Hashmi, additional director general (ADG) of DoE, told this correspondent. He said the DoE is contemplating installing a wastes-identifying device in every industrial unit. However, the government is yet to formulate the Agricultural Land Protection and Land Zoning Act, even though work on it started in way back in 2010. Of the total land area of 14.4 million hectares in Bangladesh, about 66.6 per cent is still available for cultivation. About 7.20 million hectares of farmland have already been gobbled up by land sharks in the past 40 years, according to land ministry sources.