All waste-flowing points must be plugged to save Buriganga: Experts
UNB
Industrial waste flow through three major points other than Hazaibagh one, need to be plugged to save the Buriganga River, the lifeline of the capital, since the relocation of Hazaribagh tanneries will help improve only 15-20 per cent of the rivers water quality, said experts, reports UNB.
Industrial effluents are now dumped into the Buriganga through four major pointsHazaribagh, Shyampur, Pagla and Dholaikhal.
But, the waste flow through Hazaribagh point is going to be checked with the relocation of some 200 tanneries to the designated leather estate in Savar from the bank of Buriganga.
According to experts, the government will also have to take effective steps to stop toxic waste flows through the other three pointsShyampur, Pagla and Dholaikhal - to revive the river.
Over 80,000 cubic metres of untreated industrial wastes are dumped every day into the Buriganga and about 15-20 per cent of that come from 200 tanneries located at Hazaribagh, former additional director general of the Department of Environment (DoE) Engr Md Abdus Sobhan told UNB.
Its urgent to take an initiative for stopping industrial effluent flow from different points, particularly three major ones
Shyampur, Pagla and Dholaikhal-, alongside the relocation of Hazaribagh tanneries, to protect the Buriganga, he said.
About the unchecked water pollution, eminent water expert Prof Ainun Nishat said as per the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act, 1995, no one can pollute a river, but the Buriganga is being polluted everywhere violating the law.
Apart from stopping pollution by Hazaribaghs tanneries, he said the government should stop all pollution sources one after another to save all the city rivers, including the Buriganga.
Prof Nishat said the authorities concerned must compel the industry and factory owners to set up Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) at their industries and factories to avoid dumping of untreated industrial waste, which is a major cause behind Burigangas pollution.
Household and solid waste disposal into the river must also be checked, he added.
Former director general of the Water Resource Planning Organisation (WARPO) Engr M Inamul Haque said about 10 per cent of the Buriganga could be protected by checking disposal of wastes from Hazaribagh, but it may pave a
way to save the city lifeline from rampant industrial pollution.
He said the tannery relocation move will sensitise policymakers to take right policies in restoring the rivers and mobilising people to raise their voice against pollution.
According to a study by Poribesh Bachao Andolan (Poba), Hazaribagh tanneries release some 22,000 cubic metres of untreated toxic waste into the Buriganga every day.
Abdus Sobhan, also Poba executive general secretary, said the tanneries are largely blamed for polluting the Buriganga by releasing highly toxic wastes for the last 65 years.
Citing a Poba study findings, he said around 1,40,000-1,45,000 cubic metres untreated industrial waste are being released every day into four surrounding riversBuriganga, Shitalakkhya, Balu and Turag-surrounding Dhaka. But, the Buriganga is the worst victim of toxic effluents.
Amid the growing demand for the tannery relocation to save the city environment, the government had earlier taken a strong stance to force the tanneries to shift to Savar Tannery Estate by stopping rawhide supply to Hazaribagh.
The government on April 1, 2016 stopped the rawhide supply to Hazaribagh giving the tanners until April 10 last to shift their factories to the designated industrial park in Savar.
Defying all the pressure and deadlines, the tanners are continuing their normal operation as the rawhide supply to Hazaribagh got normal just 20-22 days after the restriction imposed.
The government initially took a three-year project in 2003 to set up an industrial park in Savar to relocate 205 tanneries from Hazaribagh, but the tanners missed many deadlines many times to shift their industrial units over the last decade.
General Secretary of Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA) Shakawat Ullah said this will be quite impossible to relocate all the tanneries from Hazaribagh before September next.
