Millions of people living and working on the Buriganga and those
other millions just crossing it by boats or travelling through by
launches and other vessels all have been polluting the river by
indiscriminately throwing rubbish of all types -- organic or
non-degradable -- while the government agencies are also discharging
their solid waste and the sewerage everyday, in this lifeline of Dhaka.
Moreover, tanneries of Hazaribagh have been given 'authorised'
connections to release highly toxic waste into a canal that connects the
Buriganga while many other dyeing and washing plants scattered along
its banks are also contributing their best to release everything dirty
into this 'unfortunate' river!

In parallel, there are unscrupulous
businessmen and local goons encroaching on and grabbing lands of the
river and making it narrower, thanks to those dishonest and greedy
government staff responsible for its upkeep.

It all has given the
river “a roughly-used look” with dark black water and strong obnoxious
odour blowing from it. The extent of pollution is just beyond your
expectation or anticipation. Now, no one wants to go close to the river
without urgency, let alone for traditional boat riding fearing
contamination.

However, thousands of people living along the river
have been accepting whatever they are being given by the merciful God
for bathing, washing and other daily activities. Those who directly use
this water obviously don't have the scope or ability to purify it before
use. Forced to use the toxic water, people are falling victim to
different water-borne diseases, and arbitrary bites of mosquitoes.

The
river is witness to many historic and cultural events of the capital
city which thrive on that water. It stretches only 27 kilometres --
originating from the Dholeshwary (also known as Shitalakkhya) near
Kalatia and meeting Turag at Kamrangirchar, near Hazaribagh. The main
flow of Buriganga comes from the Turag which meets with the Dholeshwary
in Munshiganj and together takes the name Meghna to fall in the Bay of
Bengal.

Because of its course, the Buriganga receives all the
waste water from Turag, which flows through industrial Tongi, Savar and
Hazaribagh areas and receives it also from households besides industries
and vessels.

Due to siltation, the river's length has diminished
from 27 km to 18 km. Eleven of the 18 kilometres fall in Dhaka district
and seven in Narayanganj, with a very small portion in Munshiganj.

The
present head of the Buriganga, near Chhaglakandi, has silted up and
opens only during floods, but the lower part is still holding water
throughout the year. The river's course by Dhaka is stable, fixed by
resistant clays marking the southern edge of “Madhupur Tract.”

Only
20 percent of the total water supplies to the city comes from this
river through three water treatment plants, while the rest is met by
underground source.

At and around Dhaka's launch terminal,
Sadarghat, dumped waste, mainly non-degradable polythene, has piled up
over the years --courtesy small businesses and different industrial
units, the city authorities and the nearby households. The situation has
become so severe over the decades of neglect that these waste can't be
pulled up easily since the riverbed has become concrete-hard. Now it
needs an excavator!

The water apparently stays a little better,
naturally, for a couple of months only during the rainy season, due to
opening of flow from upstream.

Last year, the government claims,
it implemented a project to extract waste from three kilometres of
riverbed of the Buriganga and one kilometre of the Turag. It had
extracted 8.56 lakh cubic metres of waste at a cost of Tk 16.93 crore
under the funding of Department of Environment (DoE) -- the regulatory
body concerned. The pilot project was taken in hand when it was revealed
that the waste had created almost a 10 feet thick layer on the
riverbed. But no other activity was seen for over a year until recently.

However,
the outcry of the environmentalists and city dwellers in general, and
awareness campaigns to curb pollution have been on round-the-year.

The
government has nearly finalised a plan to go for a big project when
three connecting rivers around the city -- Buriganga, Turag and
Dholeshwary -- are expected to be made pollution-free by pulling out
waste from the riverbed, said the national news agency BSS.

Meanwhile,
the water resources minister very recently revealed that a project was
underway to bring water from Jamuna in a bid to reduce Buriganga's
pollution. The Jamuna water would be channelled through dredging 162
kilometres of Pouli, Dholeshwary, Bongshai and Turag rivers.

This
declaration is praiseworthy, but at the same time raises eyebrow of
many because of previous experience of “much talks and less work” and
slowing down of activity.

And the main concern lies here: “While
you are cleaning the riverbed what about stopping the discharge of
untreated toxic water coming out from tanneries, dyeing units and
sewerage pipes; as well as dumping of solid debris and other waste?”

Let
alone the people, the government is reluctant to High Court orders as
well. The pace of removal of pollutants and checking further discharge
carried out by different government agencies is not as fast as
necessary.

Some 150 tanneries are set to be shifted to an
industrial estate at Hemayetpur near Savar within one and a half years
while 50 more will be left operating at old sites since the new
industrial zone can't accommodate them. This is a cruel example of not
being practical. Moreover, the tender process for a central effluent
treatment plant at the park has been the reason behind delaying in the
very urgent shifting of tanneries which was initiated in 2003. The issue
is resolved now and the work is underway.

Meanwhile, the High
Court in 2009 also ordered authorities to make ETPs mandatory for
industries discharging waste water and ensure that those are kept
operational. But in reality, these are hardly ensured by the businesses
and the government authorities.

The High Court last June directed
the government to seal off all the sewage outlets on the Buriganga
within this June. It also directed the authorities concerned to stop
dumping waste into the river in the areas under Kotwali, Hazaribagh,
Lalbagh, Kamrangirchar and Demra police stations. The authorities were
also ordered to clean up the river and move all the sources of pollution
from there. A similar directive was given by the court a year before
it, too!

However, when we have problems, we must have solutions
too; and it's determination what we need to overcome the hurdles on the
way towards solutions. At least because we need the rivers as lifelines,
we should save them from going deadly and dying.

The writer is a journalist. He can be contacted through [email protected]