About 90,000 cubic meter of untreated industrial waste is dumped into the country’s rivers each day destroying the major sources of surface water, according to a report of the Poribesh Bachao Andolon (Poba).
The report says although it is mandatory to set up the Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) in industries before going into operation, many industries have no ETPs, and many others do not make the ETPs operational and discharge the untreated waste into the rivers directly.
Poba, a voluntary environmental organisation, released the report on the state of country’s river at a discussion at the Jatiya Press Club in the city on Friday.
About 21,000 cubic meter of untreated toxic waste from tanneries in the city’s Hazaribagh is released into Buriganga River daily, the report says, adding that the highly toxic waste is not only polluting the Buriganga, but also polluting air in the area.
About the river grabbing, it revealed that the nature of river grabbing has been changed. Despite recovery of the rivers, the grabbers again install structures on the bank of rivers. So, the mobile courts must conduct drives at the same locations again and again to evict illegal structures.
The Poba report says the pollution of Buriganga, Turag, Balu and Sitalakhya rivers have reached an alarming level and the dissolved oxygen of the river water has almost reached zero level.
It recommended taking strong measures to check river pollution aiming to save surface water sources.
Poba chairman Abu Naser Khan, former additional director general of the Department of Environment (DoE) Engr Abdus Sobhan, vice chancellor of Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology Dr M M Shafiullah, among others, spoke on the occasion.
Source: UNBConnect