Saving our rivers from man-made miseries

MEDIA reports have it that the Buriganga is in a state of extreme pollution. I found it literally true when we went on a river cruise from Chandpur to Dhaka as part of the annual picnic of Banking and Insurance Department of Dhaka University. We were travelling by a ship and although it was an exciting and enthralling journey, I was pained to see the condition of the Buriganga. It was a discovery for me as I could not in my wildest of imaginations foresee what I saw on the day. I was in distress to find that the river water had turned blackish and bad smells were coming out and polluting the surrounding environment. I observed with profound shock that the natural flow of the river was clogged by human activities. People like us who were either on a picnic trip or travelling on business purposes were contributing to further aggravation of the situation as they were mindlessly throwing empty food packets, water bottles, synthetics like polythene etc into the river. No wonder that the river is dying.

The government should immediately enact stringent laws with provision for exemplary punishment for those who would be found guilty of polluting the rivers including the Buriganga. A task force should be constituted for monitoring and bringing the offenders to justice. Some government initiatives and awareness programmes can save our rivers from dying.

The trip was otherwise enjoyable and I had glimpses of riverine Bangladesh and its captivating natural beauty.

Mohammad Zonaed Emran

MNC Banking Unit

Mutual Trust Bank Ltd

[email protected]