Civilisations have been always in the making on the banks of rivers. If rivers had undergone mighty changes for some reasons, civilisations ceased to exist. Mohenjodaro and Harappa tell a tale of one such devastation of the great Indus civilisation. Known as Indus civilisation, it was founded on the bank of the river Indus. No wonder rivers on the bank of which today's cities find themselves located are called the lifelines of such urban concentrations. Dhaka was no exception to this rule. Old Dhaka came up on the bank of Buriganga. Many times larger Dhaka today is blessed to have as many as four rivers girdling it. Few capitals in the world are so fortunate to accept such generous tributes from as many rivers.
Yet the blessings have turned into nightmares for the capital simply because of mindless encroachment combined with callousness on the part of some influential people and the authorities concerned. Land-grabbers, polluters -both factory-owners and common public, vessel operators and service providers together are on a spree of dumping their garbage, solid waste, spill and effluent in to the rivers. They can do so because no authority has so far firmly announced 'thus far and no further'. In fact, the authorities' wisdom is suspect. Are they capable of appreciating the fact that the danger brewing up on account of the massive pollution has the potential to turn the capital into a dead city in the near future?
Media and public outcry, the High Court's directives and even a movement under the banner 'Save Buriganga' could do nothing except forcing the authorities to undertake a half-hearted sludge removal project. The move came following the report that no micro-organism could live in the Buriganga waters simply because the riverbed was covered by layers of solid waste including polythene sheets or bags and the water did not contain the amount of oxygen necessary for the survival of any living organism, let alone fish. Even that project of sludge removal helped, to a little extent, improve the water quality of the Buriganga.
Now things have gone back to square one and it appears from a report carried by a leading Bangla newspaper that the quality of waters of all four rivers has gone from bad to worse. It reports that the amount of accumulated garbage and effluent is more than the waters in them. Even a casual look at the stinking tar-like black waters of the four rivers would give the unmistakeable impression of veritable cesspools. Nature does not tolerate mindless ravages or tinkering; it hits back and does so ruthlessly. Already declared as the worst city to live in, the capital of Bangladesh risks its abandonment if its industrial and structural anarchy continues unabated. Mumbai went under waist deep water apparently due to torrential rains but further study showed that a bridge constructed on river narrowing the course of the river simply obstructed the flow of water from the city.
The Balu and the Turag are now rivers only in name. In the lean season water flow is non-existent in parts of the riverbeds. The Buriganga also has become precariously narrower at several points restricting its flows. Only the Sitalakhya is comparatively in better health although its size too has reduced abnormally. If the rivers could maintain their original size and shape, the water flows at least did not allow accumulation of the sludge and garbage in such a dangerous proportion. But the very fact of illegally occupying land on river banks and dumping the rivers with household, clinical and industrial waste run counter to science and ethics.
Now who will take the responsibility of making the authorities -there are several ministries and departments involved -convinced that the illegal occupation and release of waste and effluent have surpassed all limits? Unless drastic measures are taken, the rivers and perhaps the city itself are a gone case. The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) claims it has sealed 37 and 17 waste and effluent openings into the rivers Sitalakhya and the Buriganga respectively under an on-going process. Sounds good but without compelling the plants or factories to set up effluent treatment plants is there any solution to the problem? The erring factories or units will find some vile methods to dispose of their untreated waste and effluent, anyway. This is indication enough that coordination between the ministries concerned and a united move are warranted in dealing with this unfolding disaster.
Apart from the long view of the relationship between the rivers and the capital, the immediate consideration for financial implications alone can make it incumbent on policy-makers and planners to restore the rivers' health. River-water pollution has not only curtailed the number of water reservoirs here but also the dangerous level of contamination of the existing ones has accounted for loss of billions of takas in financial terms. In the year 2012 alone the financial loss due to polluted water in Dhaka has been estimated at about Tk 73.65 billion. So it is not difficult to find where the priority lies - addressing the problem in a comprehensive manner or just do some patch work as an eyewash.
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