Urgent steps to save Dhaka from environmental decline
Saturday, 23 January 2010
Residents of Dhaka city with about 15 million people are exposed to environmental hazards and this situation is worsening day by day. But unfortunately, neither of the two main political parties said anything of substance in their recent election manifestos to address the problem.
In a city already overcrowded with population, more people from all over the country are coming with desperate bid to settle. The influx of people has resulted in not only high density, but also growth of slums in a more alarming way. Currently, more than 0.3 million of motor vehicles are running on the city's roads. But a large number of 'unfit' motor vehicles are running, which is one of the main reasons behind the air pollution in the capital.
The management of different kinds of wastes -- solid, clinical, human, industrial and others-- is poor and the issue is not being addressed properly. About 400 tonnes out of 3,500 tonnes of solid waste, generated in the city everyday, partly remain on the roadside and in open spaces. Vehicles of Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) remove the rest and carry those to dumping grounds, which are again located in open spaces, contributing to air and water pollution in areas in the immediate vicinity of the city.
Most of the tanneries in the city's Hazaribagh area and some other industries at Tejgaon area leave untreated hazardous industrial waste. Experts fear that in near future the untreated industrial wastes seeping into soil might severely pollute the underground water, which is still the main source of water in the city.
Meanwhile, the inadequate and faulty sewerage network in the city is able to carry only about half of the total sewage to the only sewage treatment plant at Pagla in Narayanganj. The city generates more than 0.1 million cubic metres of sewage everyday. A huge quantity of sewage oozing out of the city's faulty sewerage network is severely polluting the city's canals, water bodies and the Buriganga river. Untreated sewage is also discharged regularly into the river directly.
Two studies conducted in the last three years suggested average noise level was almost double than permissible limit and rising fast. Sound level in Dhaka is almost twice as loud as the law permits, creating an unhealthy environment for residents, say scientists of the Department of the Environment.
Thus, the policy makers in the incumbent government need to consider it as high priority to make policies leading to improvement in the environment of the capital city.
Shakila Obayedullah
Shantinagar, Dhaka
In a city already overcrowded with population, more people from all over the country are coming with desperate bid to settle. The influx of people has resulted in not only high density, but also growth of slums in a more alarming way. Currently, more than 0.3 million of motor vehicles are running on the city's roads. But a large number of 'unfit' motor vehicles are running, which is one of the main reasons behind the air pollution in the capital.
The management of different kinds of wastes -- solid, clinical, human, industrial and others-- is poor and the issue is not being addressed properly. About 400 tonnes out of 3,500 tonnes of solid waste, generated in the city everyday, partly remain on the roadside and in open spaces. Vehicles of Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) remove the rest and carry those to dumping grounds, which are again located in open spaces, contributing to air and water pollution in areas in the immediate vicinity of the city.
Most of the tanneries in the city's Hazaribagh area and some other industries at Tejgaon area leave untreated hazardous industrial waste. Experts fear that in near future the untreated industrial wastes seeping into soil might severely pollute the underground water, which is still the main source of water in the city.
Meanwhile, the inadequate and faulty sewerage network in the city is able to carry only about half of the total sewage to the only sewage treatment plant at Pagla in Narayanganj. The city generates more than 0.1 million cubic metres of sewage everyday. A huge quantity of sewage oozing out of the city's faulty sewerage network is severely polluting the city's canals, water bodies and the Buriganga river. Untreated sewage is also discharged regularly into the river directly.
Two studies conducted in the last three years suggested average noise level was almost double than permissible limit and rising fast. Sound level in Dhaka is almost twice as loud as the law permits, creating an unhealthy environment for residents, say scientists of the Department of the Environment.
Thus, the policy makers in the incumbent government need to consider it as high priority to make policies leading to improvement in the environment of the capital city.
Shakila Obayedullah
Shantinagar, Dhaka