Causes and Remedies of Buriganga River Pollution

Dhaka is celebrating its 400th anniversary as the capital of Bengal proclaimed by the Mughals in the early 17th century.It is a strategic decision by the Mughals considering the economic, navigation and security potentials of the perennial river Buriganga which surrounded parts of Dhaka.Since then the civilisation of Dhaka City has been developed by the bank of the Buriganga River.The history, livelihood,culture and heritage of Dhaka City have been largely shaped by this small but important river.Four hundred years later the river continues to play a very important role, since according to officials an average of 30,000 people use the Sadarghat launch terminal,one of the largest river ports in the world,for departure and arrival every day.But for hundreds of years the Buriganga has been continuously abused by unplanned urbanisation and unsupervised industrialisation. The onslaught of the resultant pollution has virtually killed the Buriganga.

Present Scenario of Buriganga River :

Hundreds of years ago, the banks of the Buriganga were a prime location when the Mughals made Dhaka their capital in 1610.The house-turned-museum of the Nawab (ruler) overlooks the river, which is the country's main waterway for trading and ferry travel. It was once the main source of drinking water for Dhaka's residents and an hour downstream from the capital city the river is still crystal clear.In the present scenario, the river carries only wastewater during the seven months of the dry season (November-May).Even during the wet season no aquatic animal can survive in the dead river water. Throughout the year, inhabitants near the river and thousands of people who travel through Sadarghat suffer a lot because of the foul smelling water of the Buriganga.
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In recent water quality tests, the Department of Environment found the amount of dissolved oxygen, which determines the degree of pollution, is still too low for aquatic lives to survive in the Buriganga. Laboratory analysis of the samples shows that presence of dissolved oxygen was between 0.50-0.84 mgs per litre (mg/L),while standard surface water is 5 mg/L in Bangladesh. Earlier, researchers from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) found that oxygen levels were 0.7 and 0.25 at Chadnighat point, 0.27 and 0.63 in Norai near Trimohini, and 0.27 and 0.63 in the Turag at Tongi before and after the monsoon respectively. A three-year research finds that some invertebrates and small organisms come to life in these rivers when water flow increases in the rains. But these life forms disappear in the dry season, the researchers add. The Institute of Water Modelling (IWM) and the World Bank conducted a survey of pollution in Dhaka rivers in 2007 that showed there are over 300 various effluent discharge outlets in the capital and Narayanganj. Of these,19 outlets carry mixed flows of industrial and household waste into the rivers around the capital.

Causes Of Buriganga River Pollution :

Pollution of Buriganga River began in the Mughal period, since the sewage of the city used to be dumped into the river. Professor Muntasir Mamoon, a historian who has been writing books and articles on Buriganga River and other connecting canals since early 1970s, says, "The historical documents state that people used to get bad smell one and half kilometers away from Buriganga River even in the late 19th century Several studies on the Buriganga River have identified many causes for the river's pollution such as sedimentation at the upstream, encroachment, and disposal of solid wastes, sewage and industrial wastes in the river.
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Sedimentation At The Upstream:

Because of the sedimentation on the upstream, the flow of Buriganga-Turag system gets cut off, especially during the dry season. Which is why not a single drop water flows into the river system at that time, informs the hydrologists and engineers of Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB). During this period of time the system basically carries sewage and industrial effluents. And because of high tide a little water comes from downstream.

Population Explosion:
It is estimated that world population is doubling every thirty-five years. But in case Of Bangladesh it take twenty- twenty five years. We know that every additional person add extra pollution. Sadarghat, the most familiar point of buriganga and also in Dhaka. Everyday about 2.5 lakh people use this point or terminal for their journey. Most of them illeterate and do not know how to use river side area properly. They thrown water bottle, paper and other harmful things into the river water. And this way river polluted vastly

Encroachment And Land Grabbing:

Encroachment, of course, has always been a big threat to rivers eating away the banks and narrowing them further and further. Over the years, landfills created on the river have narrowed its width at many places near the city. The encroachers have set up platform like structures on the rivers and gradually filled out the bottoms by piling up earth and rubbish. Even multi-storied structures have been built on encroached such high grounds created at the expense of the
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course of the river with the only effects being more and more narrowing it down. 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. Meanwhile, the dumping of wastes into the river system has virtually killed it.

Disposal Of Solid & Domestic Waste:

Dhaka City dwellers have been dumping domestic wastes and solid wastes into the Buriganga since the Mughal period. After hundreds of years, government agencies such as Rajdhani Unnyan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), Dhaka City Corporation, Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa), Department of Environment (DoE) Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) and Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) have failed to stop disposal of solid wastes and domestic wastes into the river bodies, state several reports on the Buriganga River pollution. According to several studies, each day about 900 cubic metres untreated domestic and human waste 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, because of mismanagement the treatment plant is using one third of its capacity. 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.

Sewage And Industrial Waste:

Experts identified nine industrial areas in and around the capital city Tongi,Tejgaon,Hazaribag,Tarabo,Narayanganj,Savar,Gazipur, Dhaka Export
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Processing Zone and Ghorashal as the prime sources of river pollution. Most of the industrial units of these areas have no sewerage treatment plants of their own. More than 60,000 cubic meters of toxic waste including textile dying, printing, washing and pharmaceuticals are released into the main water bodies of Dhaka every day. On the other hand, appropriate system of removing waste of the river is absent. As a result, the lifted dirt is loaded on the bank of Buriganga instead of throwing it to the dumping stations. The sun dries up the dirt and wind carries it back to the river. This dirt is the host of many common diseases like diarrhea, cholera etc. Nearly 4.0 million people of the city are exposed to the consequences of water pollution every day.

Tannery Waste:
There are about 200 leather tanneries in the Hazaribagh district of Dhaka,the capital. Some use modest technology and machinery, but most operate as they did decades ago and release untreated toxic chemical waste near residential areas.The first thing you notice when you walk through the streets of Hazaribagh is the horrible and seemingly allpervasive stench of tanning chemicals.According to the Department of Environment,the tanneries discharge 22,000 cubic meters of untreated liquid toxic waste daily into the rivers,gutters and canals that run alongside in the roads of Hazaribagh.Toxins are also leaching into groundwater.

The chemicals end up forming coloured ponds and lakes of toxic waste in residential areas and are causing much harm to the 20,000 people who work and live in the tanning district. Most are suffering from chronic respiratory problems, skin diseases and even destruction of the nasal septum.

Burnt oil dumped into Buriganga:

Apart from untreated industrial and household wastes, burnt motor oil and lubricant are also contributing greatly to the pollution of the already moribund river Buriganga.Motor oil traders collect burnt oil from launch operators and refine only to sell those back to them. In the process of refining the muddy and pitch-black remnants are mindlessly dumped into the river.Around 15 motor oil traders are engaged in refining burnt oil of launches.Launch operators sell the burnt oil every two to three months. By the time each launch has around 20 litres of burnt oil, said Hafizur Rahman, driver of Sharnadip launch of Dhaka-Shariatpur route.The remains after the refinement of used oil is dumped into the river, said Dulal who once worked with a motor oil refiner. Not only that, engine boats also release burnt oil into the river thus contributing to the pollution, said Abu Naser Khan, Chairman of Save Environment Movement.Khan said burnt oil from the motorised vehicles is thrown into the drains, which ultimately mingles with the river water around the capital. Burnt oil is highly toxic, he added. Professor Mujibur Rahman of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) said any kind of oil pollutes water and increases the level of pollution, which affects the eco-system of the water body.

Remedies of Buriganga rever pollution

The Buriganga river is afflicted with multiple pollutions. It is nothing but a crematory.Is there no hope for Buriganga? Fortunately there is. Environmental experts ,water experts and BUET gives some necessary steps to Bangladesh governmet for Buriganga river pollution.These prevention techniques are highlited below.

Population Control &Make public Awareness:

Huge population explotion of dhaka one of the main reason of buriganga river polution. According to several studies, each day about 900 cubic metres untreated domestic and industrial effluents are discharged into the Buriganga-Turag system.So prevent the buriganga river pollution we should make public awareness and stop population growth of dhaka city.

Increase water flow of Buriganga:

Increase flow of the river:During the dry season, the river has a flow of only 50 cubic metre per second (cumec). One solution could be to augment the rivers of Dhaka with freshwater from the Jamuna River which has a minimum dry season flow of around 3500 cumec. This will not only improve the water quality of the peripheral rivers of Dhaka but also will benefit water supply, agriculture irrigation, fisheries and navigation. This is an ideal case of integrated water resources management. A feasibility study on this option was carried out in 2004 by the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) in 2004. BWDB, under Ministry of Water Resources, has already submitted a project titled "Augmentation of Buriganga flow by restoring silted up links with Jamuna River' for the consideration of the government.

Planned Dranage System:

Obviously, the existing poor domestic sewage system needs to be improved by installing proper drainage facilities. Besides, using the total capacity of the sewage treatment plant at Pagla, Wasa must install more treatment plants so that a single drop of sewage is not discharged into the river water. As for the rest of the areas Rajuk, Dhaka City Corporation and the pourashavas must ensure that people use septic tank systems due to absence of sanitary sewer system. At the same time, the government agencies must provide proper facilities for routine sludging of the septic tanks.
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Control Disposal of Solid Wastes

To control disposal of solid wastes into river Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) and BIWTA should work together. BIWTA must force the owners of the vessels and traders on the bank of the river to dump the solid wastes at the fixed places provided by DCC. For any type of construction work within 50 metres of the riverbank, clearance from BIWTA should be mandatory. All structures, especially brickfields within 200 metres from the riverbank should be demolished.

River Dredging
The government must allocate a budget so that BIWTA can buy sufficient dredgers for routine dredging of the riverbed for smooth navigation.

Move Tannery from Hazaribag:

The Ministry of Industries must take initiatives to shift the leather tanneries from Hazaribagh to Hemayetpur, Savar with Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) facilities, which was supposed to be done in 2006, under the recommendation of a task force on Buriganga formed by the government in 2003.

In order to improve water quality in Buriganga-Turag system a bill can be passed immediately in the parliament. Professor Muntasir Mamoon suggests, "The government should realise that unless Buriganga-Turag exist, Dhaka City will not survive. When the bill will be passed in the parliament, it will be easier for the government to control strictly the encroachers. At the same time, demolishing the structures within half a mile of opposite of Dhaka City, a beautification programme should be initiated. It will save the river from the encroachment, at the same time people will get place for amusement, which is very important for urban dwellers. In fact, it should be the top pledges of the parliamentarians from Dhaka constituency to force the government to take steps to save the rivers.

References: Internet and Newspaper