WB offering $70m for making Dhaka rivers free of pollution
Thursday, 1 July 2010
FE Report
The government has undertaken a programme to fight against water pollution, especially industrial wastes contaminating the rivers surrounding Dhaka city — the goal of which is ensuring safe and clean water flow, officials said Tuesday.
The World Bank (WB) Dhaka office said it would finance the project that would help stop the waste contamination of the river water, 60 per cent of which has been polluted by untreated industrial wastes.
Finance ministry officials said the global lender would provide a US$ 70 million fund for the scheme that would remove the wastes from the rivers.
The Buriganga, Sitalakhya, Turag and Balu are the rivers worst affected by the industrial wastes flowing from nearly 7,000 factories located around the capital. Most of them pollute rivers due to discharge of their untreated wastes.
Major industries like tanneries and textiles are constantly dumping untreated or under-treated toxic industrial refuses into river streams, along with sewerage and solid municipal wastes which contribute to the appalling rate of contamination, say environmental activists.
It has been reported that river beds have a depth of 3-4 inches filled with discarded polythene. As a result, the rivers are getting squeezed from all directions – top, bottom, left and right.
According to a government official, 40 per cent of Dhaka’s river pollutants stem from untreated domestic wastes. The heavy contamination of water sources is threatening the availability of safe and clean water in Dhaka, he added.
“The focus will first be on selected industrial spots in Dhaka. The project will introduce pollution prevention and reduction measures for factories in these industrial zones and help in monitoring the compliance of environmental standards,” the official said.
The official said under the project industrial units which have no treatment plants will be offered support for installing waste management plants through Public-Private Partnership (PPP).
A spokesman of the World Bank said: “Both the government and the World Bank have agreed on project preparation and its implementation procedures. The technical design of the project is near completion and it is anticipated that the project will be ready for appraisal by early July 2010.”
The government has undertaken a programme to fight against water pollution, especially industrial wastes contaminating the rivers surrounding Dhaka city — the goal of which is ensuring safe and clean water flow, officials said Tuesday.
The World Bank (WB) Dhaka office said it would finance the project that would help stop the waste contamination of the river water, 60 per cent of which has been polluted by untreated industrial wastes.
Finance ministry officials said the global lender would provide a US$ 70 million fund for the scheme that would remove the wastes from the rivers.
The Buriganga, Sitalakhya, Turag and Balu are the rivers worst affected by the industrial wastes flowing from nearly 7,000 factories located around the capital. Most of them pollute rivers due to discharge of their untreated wastes.
Major industries like tanneries and textiles are constantly dumping untreated or under-treated toxic industrial refuses into river streams, along with sewerage and solid municipal wastes which contribute to the appalling rate of contamination, say environmental activists.
It has been reported that river beds have a depth of 3-4 inches filled with discarded polythene. As a result, the rivers are getting squeezed from all directions – top, bottom, left and right.
According to a government official, 40 per cent of Dhaka’s river pollutants stem from untreated domestic wastes. The heavy contamination of water sources is threatening the availability of safe and clean water in Dhaka, he added.
“The focus will first be on selected industrial spots in Dhaka. The project will introduce pollution prevention and reduction measures for factories in these industrial zones and help in monitoring the compliance of environmental standards,” the official said.
The official said under the project industrial units which have no treatment plants will be offered support for installing waste management plants through Public-Private Partnership (PPP).
A spokesman of the World Bank said: “Both the government and the World Bank have agreed on project preparation and its implementation procedures. The technical design of the project is near completion and it is anticipated that the project will be ready for appraisal by early July 2010.”