Exemplary actions

The Department of Environment (DOE), in a recent drive, perhaps to be seen doing something against polluting industries, fined a dyeing factory nearly two million taka (Tk 24.42 lakh) for discharging untreated liquid waste into the Bongshai river of Kaliakor in Gazipur. As reported in a contemporary last Friday (April 01,2010) PS Knit Composite Ltd has been defying a DOE notice, served way back in 2007, to install an effluent treatment plant (ETP), but like many other industrial enterprises (which must also be booked forthwith if the government means business) it has thumbed its nose at the authorities, confident perhaps of 'managing' them somehow. This unfortunate culture of bending rules for friends has proved to be the bane of Bangladesh, as all illegal and undeniably destructive 'development' activities --- destructive of the health of the land's God-given resources --- are allowed to continue almost to the point of no return. The above factory is said to have discharged over 78,000 cubic metres of untreated waste over the past six months alone. Ecologically-educated activists and similarly conscientious media have been trying to keep the pressure on, in order to make Bangladesh's fledgling industrialists clean up their mills and factories. But the latter's purchasing powers, so to say, seem to be often a notch or two above those of even the most incorruptible government officials in charge. The result is, compliance with the country's rules, regulations and laws remains optional. Needless to say, penalties are also not consistent and depend on the quality of the 'interface' between the offender and powers-that-be. The contemporary also front-paged a telling picture of toxic brew from another dyeing factory at Godnail in Narayanganj getting drained out to fall into the ultimate destination, the Sitalakkhya, one of the major rivers in the district. Draining and dumping of harmful industrial waste as well as household sewage and garbage into this river has been a routine affair for so long that the very life of the Sitalakkhya is under threat. More than once there have been reports of large quantities of dead fish floating in the river. What with illegal land grabbing and indiscriminate waste dumping, the Buriganga, the Turag and many other vital river sources, as well as fertile land, are rapidly turning into stinking sewers and poisonous wasteland, if not 'developed' dryland. The media along with civil society groups must keep up the momentum to make both government and industry wake up to the urgent need to clean up and conserve the country's water sources. It may be mentioned here that the 2010 UN Principles for Responsible Investment cited water scarcity as a critical challenge that needs addressing. Water should certainly not be taken for granted. Over the past half century or so the world's 'watchers' have been warning about an impending water scarcity. Globally, enlightened investors have already been taking sustainable initiatives to conserve water. According to a recent Financial Times (London) report, 'the actual global demand for water will outstrip supply by 40 per cent under a business-as-usual scenario' by the year 2030, and the suggestion is that the largest corporations should engage in addressing the projected crisis. People in Bangladesh need to be wary of corporate solutions lest they prove to be like the last straw on the camel's back. The government's role should be to protect and conserve the common property water resources for the benefit of all rather than reward some companies blank cheques to profit from the acute thirst for safe water in Bangladesh. However, social businesses and the much-hyped 'corporate social responsibility' components of big companies might be able to play a valuable role, provided the intention is to really conserve 'life' --- that is, water.