The colossal Hatirjheel-Begunbari Lake is now drifting across gray greenery and contaminated water with massive architecture clothed in dazzling lights. The express road, modern bridge, walk ways are overflowing with crowds and wastes of all kinds. A sea of vehicles are gridlocked at the entrance to express roads, along the lake, stretching as far as one’s eyes can see and the air is thick with the suffocating odour seeping from the water. Before the renovation project Hatirjheel could have been well described as the dumping zone of Dhaka, a ditch carrying household and industrial waste. Unfortunately ten months after the inauguration of the new and improved beautiful lake, it is facing its old troubles. The area with its wide-open spaces is gradually losing charm and beauty due to noxious smells of the contaminated lake that is constantly burdened with garbage.
Beside the express road, people living in the dense cluster of shanty settlements that stand in a rambling line, face the same health hazards as before. A residence of the south Begunbari slum, Anwar Hossain says, “Every day our living room is engulfed with odours coming out from the lake. We cannot breathe properly. Since June the situation remains as it is, but the authorities seem not to take any initiative to improve the quality of the water.”
The pollution of the lake is intensifying with each day. The Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) experts believes that without a proper waste water treatment plant, which they forgot to put in during the construction, there is no way out from the stagnant contaminated water. However the responsible authority- Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) and Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DWASA), claim that they decided to allow the wastes into the lake only during the rainy season. But they also admit their decision will not help the present situation.
The civil engineering department head of BUET, Professor Mujibur Rahman explains that the project has installed a screen at the entrance of the sewerage line to stop solid wastes from entering the lake. But in the rainy season the screen was blocked by huge solid wastes, so water flowed back and caused water blockage in Dhanmondi, Kalabagan and Panthapath areas, “DWASA removed the fixed screen as an instant solution to deal with the water stagnation and it made the condition worst. They supposed to separate the sewerage and storm water drainage system to keep your urban landscape and rain water retention area net and clean.”
The problem surfaced a few months after the inauguration, when the stench emanating from the contaminated water filled the lake and its adjacent areas. Experts believe that the absence of proper monitoring, a waste water treatment plant and the illegal dumping of industrial waste and the connecting of the sewerage line with the rain water collection channels has turned the situation from bad to worse. Even the Special Sewerage Diversion Structure (SSDS), which is designed especially for Hatirjheel, that reroutes the storm water and sewerage line, has proved inefficient to deal with the solid wastes.
Following the SSDS only rain water was supposed to enter the lake through different box culvert. The plan aimed at retaining the rainwater, but with the absurd connection, along with rainwater, solid wastes are now also entering the lake. “We expect that the lake will remain neat and clean but at the same time we are connecting sewerage line with the storm water line and polluting the whole area. This is absolutely ridiculous,” Rahman adds.
The absurd connection between storm water and sewerage line: the solid waste are now entering the lake. Photo: Prabir Das
RAJUK plans to get rid of the problem as soon as possible so they are using pumps near the Rampura Bridge to remove the smell. Abdul Mannan, acting chairman of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha (Rajuk), believes that the odour in the water at Hartirjheel is a structural and technical problem. The odour seeping out from the water is the result of sewerage entering the drains, so he assures, “Once the pumps are in place, there’ll be no stench from the water.”
The Hatirjheel canal is mainly polluted during the rainy season as sewer waste with storm water falls into the canal through 11 outlets. Experts have criticized the new plan, since through the outlets Hatirjheel canal connects with the Balu River, which later joins the Shitalakkhya. So with this canal getting polluted the water of the two rivers is also getting contaminated. Architect Iqbal Habib, a consultant of Hatirjheel-Begunbari project believes that it is not possible to clean the water at Hatirjheel simply by adopting ad hoc basis plan. Moreover there is a strong possibility that the waste water will rest on the lake ground as sediments and spread more unpleasant smells in the area. Habib said when project began they suggested to the concerned authorities that they should set up a solar aquatic treatment plant to remove the odour from the water, “It is a natural mechanism of cleaning water by using solar power and water hyacinth. Unfortunately they do not listen to us. We fear if it is continued the sedimentation will create more difficulties.”
Experts believe that it is not possible to clean the water at Hatirjheel by adopting an ad hoc basis plan. Photo: Star File
The contaminated water is posing threats to health as well. Photo: Prabir Das
The contaminated water is posing threats to health as well. According to the local people in the last few months many people have fallen ill. Anwar knows nothing about the structural and the technical problem–all he wants is a better place for living, “When it rains, the black polluted water smells even more. In South Begunbari slum at least 30 people have fallen ill in that last four months. We thought the government will come forward to solve the problem, but they do not even come to see us. We are passing an inhuman life.”
Now the DWASA is looking for donors to fund the Tk 1,500-crore water treatment plant. Land acquisiotion for the project is going on and they have already requested the Economic Relations Division (ERD) through the Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) ministry to find a donor. Managing Director of DWASA Taqsem A Khan says that any government-work procedure takes time but we are putting higher priority to the project.
The Bangladesh Government has already spent 10.48 billion taka on one 10 kilometre express road stretching from east to west; six bridges add to the well-planned commuting network that has lessened the traffic jams in all adjoining areas, particularly Badda, Gulshan, Moghbazar, Mouchak, Rampura, Tejgaon and Begunbari. With the delay in starting the waste water treatment plant the cost for structural development is shooting up every day.
Due to the delay in starting the waste water treatment plant the cost for structural development is shooting up. Photo: Prabir Das
Kingbodontir Dhaka a book by Nazir Hossain says that in the nineteenth century the British government and the local Zaminders used Hatirjheel for elephant bathing. But after the British period ended, the historical place was covered with illegal structures. Almost five years ago, the government took up the project to recover the 304 acres of land and the city’s largest rain retention basin. No doubt, the new appearance of the lake draws a large number of city dwellers. It brings hope for the people, since the area helps us forget the overcrowded city we see and experience every day. People have found a new place to congregate to have fun with friends and family, but, without proper maintenance and essential renovation to correct the inherent flaws of the project, this little respite is reverting back to the smelly garbage dump it once was.
Source: The Daily Star
