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A delegation of “Dhakabashi,” an organisation engaged in preservation and promotion of traditions of Dhaka city, at a meeting with Chief Adviser Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed, among other matters, raised the demand for saving the river Buriganga, the lifeline of the city of 12 million people.
Meanwhile, a front-page photograph in The Daily Star (June 1) showed some people hanging a signboard of a mosque at Shaheed Bagh in a water body which was once a part of the river Buriganga. This is an example of encroachment of rivers and water bodies by organised groups; using different strategies. The rivers that surround Dhaka are the lifeline of the capital. The population of the city, which was merely one lakh in 1906, has jumped to over 1 crore 20 lakhs now, but the authorities have so far failed to prepare and implement any effective plan to keep the rivers free from pollution and illegal land grabbers. The authorities, as we have witnessed, launch drives to remove unauthorised structures from the riverbanks; more for publicity than for any tangible result. During the last several years, series of drives had been launched for clearing unauthorised structures, but gradually those were rebuilt. There have been repeated demands from different non-government organisations to protect the recovered water bodies so that land grabbers cannot recapture such land. But the demands have apparently fallen on deaf ears. It is widely believed, and not without basis, that there is an understanding between the land grabbers and a section of employees working with the concerned government agencies. Encroachment and pollution of the rivers surrounding Dhaka, including the Buriganga, continue despite the existence of more than a couple of dozen government agencies involved in the management of the rivers and water bodies. Bangladesh is the lower riparian country of the Ganges-Padma, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna (GBM). But those rivers are being increasingly degraded by untreated domestic raw sewage, industrial effluents, and run-off pollution from chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Dhaka city, which was established by the Mughals on the banks of River Buriganga in the early 17th century, has been serving the purpose of our people with all its resources. With the passing of time, the river has now been turned almost into a “septic reservoir” in absence of proper supervision and management by the concerned agencies, as about 22,000 cubic meters of toxic tannery wastes are directly dumped into the river everyday. The Turag has also been facing identical problems from land grabbers and owners of different industrial units. The Sitalakhya, a major tributary of the Buriganga, is another victim of encroachment and pollution. The Department of Environment (DoE) has identified more than 1,000 polluting industrial units in the country. Each industrial unit should have an effluent treatment plant (ETP), according to the Environment Conservation Act 1995, to get clearance from the DoE, which is a prerequisite for getting power and gas connections. The owners of the industries were asked to install ETP at their respective industries by October 31 last year, or face disconnection of gas and power. But the warning, as it appears, had fallen on deaf ears. In most case, the owners of polluting industries did not install ETP, defying the directives of the government. But no action was taken against the defaulting industrial units. The government also enacted the Environment Court Act 2000, which was followed by some amendments in 2002, to set up one or more environment courts in each division to deal with the environment-related offences. But such courts could not ensure speedy trial of the cases due to lack of sincerity and seriousness on the part of DeE officials. So far, there has been little progress in regard to the relocation of the tanneries from Hazaribagh. Nothing is heard regarding the suggestion made by the Institute of Water Modeling (IWM) in 2003 for augmentation of the Buriganga by channelling water into it from other rivers. City dwellers have been facing acute scarcity of safe water, as Wasa cannot cope with the increasing demand. In this context, it needs to be recalled that London based Earthscan released a feature as early as in 1985, captioned “The Ganga: India's poisonous pilgrimage,” giving a graphic picture of pollution of the river. It is said that, every day, 120 million litres of city sewage, chemical effluents from a world-renowned cottage silk industry, and hundreds of human and animal corpses are dumped into the vicinity of the bathing sites in Banares. Sounding a note of warning, K Gopalkrishnan in his feature said: “Unless waste dumping is controlled soon, pilgrims will take some vials filled with an increasingly contaminated and virulent fluid. Already a source of much illness, the Ganga's water of life threatens to become a focus of lethal infection on an as yet un-witnessed scale.” I would like to fully endorse the views of ANM Nurul Haque, expressed in his article “Rivers of Poison,” published in The Daily Star on May 11. His suggestion for creating a powerful body to free the rivers from the clutches of the encroachers and polluters, instead of having so many non-functional ornamental bodies, deserves praises. It can be added that there is a need for devising ways and means so that the land or water bodies, once recovered from the land grabbers, cannot be recaptured. There is no need for explaining the importance of rivers in any country's trade and commerce. Since “Dhakabashi” has raised the demand for protecting the Buriganga to the head of the caretaker government, it is believed that the matter will get the importance it deserves. Nurul Huda is a Special Correspondent of BSS. Source: The Daily Star, June 05, 2008 |
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Safe disposal of solid waste Open 'dumping is I a very common waste disposal practice in our country, which is environmentally unsound, unsafe and undeniable. There is a risk of health. and environment in terms of pollution of water resources, emission of green house gases, disease and vector spreading, bed smell, aesthetic disorder and so on. A common scenario in the dump site is obnoxious odor, burning waste and emitting smoke etc. Waste pickers are seen scavenging around the dumping loaders and bulldozers. Solid waste can not be avoided. By using proper technology we can use wastes as a resource. Waste management is a technique for recycling, reuse or minimizes its adverse effect on the human being. Mainly two types of waste are collected at DCC for processing. Only municipal wastes are used for landfill. On the other hand, reusable hospital wastes are reuse by the processing. Organic hospital wastes are dumped, incinerated. These wastes may be classified into two types-municipal wastes derived from storage, market, restaurant, office building, hotels, institutional and domestic waste. Types of municipal solid waste- food waste, rubbish, ashes, demolition and construction waste etc. Hospital waste- derived from different type of government and non-government hospital, clinic, diagnostic center. Types of hospital waste- tissues, blood products, organs, polythene bags, medicine container, syringe, needle of all types, nozzle of syringes, cover slips, blades, glass, slides etc. By the definition solid wastes are all the wastes arising from human and animal activities that are normally solid and are discarded as useless or unwanted. Solid waste is defamed as leftover or unwanted material after human consumption or well being and it is the useless byproduct of economic activity. It has no value at the present moment and thrown away as discarded or worthless but a potentially valuable commodity to someone who thrives on it. Solid Waste Management (SWM) refers to all activities- Generation, Storage, Collection, Transfer & Transport, Processing/Treatment, and Disposal. In accordance with the best principles of- Public health, Economics, Engineering, Conservation, Aesthetic, Social and Environmental aspects and the framework of Administrative, Financial, Legal, Planning, Social and Engineering functions. Waste management is a technique for recycling, reuse or minimizes its adverse effect on the human being. Some objectives of SWM are given below: To remove the discarded material from inhabited places in a timely manner in order to prevent the spread of disease, to minimize livelihood of pursuable organic materials. To dispose the material in a manner that is environmentally acceptable. Waste may be toxic or hazardous that can adversely affect the following components if improperly managed. Some adverse affects of improper management of solid waste are the following environmental issues, such as- Aesthetic displeasure, Public nuisance, Dust, Occupying space, Odor, Vector breeding, Leaching. Health issues, such as-Disease. Flies carries 12 kinds. Cockroach 18 kinds, Rat 22 kinds. Globally affect, such as, Global warming, Acid rain, Ozone layer depletion. We cannot avoid waste. It may be resource by using proper method which is environmentally acceptable. We have identified some problems those should be minimized. The problems can be overcome through the following recommendation- Segregation process should develop in household level through advertisement or media for avoiding the soil pollution. The educational opportunity should develop for the child workers and ensure the good heath status. To date, waste reduction has been largely voluntary. A more effective approach must include economic incentives that make it more expensive to waste, and more cost-effective to recycle and reuse. Eventually, consideration must be given to mandatory measures, including disposal bans on locally recyclable materials or mandatory recycling for businesses and residents. Finally, business people in every economic sector including the construction, manufachlring, wholesale, retail and service industries must take responsibility for wise resource use. To take control measure and to reduce the negative impact of open dumping can be mitigate by the construction of sanitary landfill. Although a milestone step has been taken by Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) with the technical assistance and support from the Japan International Co-operation Agency as part of the Clean Dhaka Master Plan. A step by step improvement measures have been tried out in the various place landfill site from open dumping with odor, smoke, scavenging etc. but its limited. If DCC can be implement a sanitary landfill with simple and locally suitable design, materials and construction method of suitable area where mass people protect from various diseases. Source: The New Nation, June 09, 2008 |
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Environmental pollution is really a social problem. Pollution may be defined as the unfavorable alteration of our surroundings, wholly or largely as a direct or indirect consequence of man's actions. Pollution of air is the most concern today. Air pollution is the contamination of air by different harmful (physical, chemical, biological) substances. These substances are called pollutants, can occur naturally or can be produced by human activities. Natural pollutants include dust, smoke, particles. Different types of gases like carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen's oxides (NOx), hydrocarbons etc. are also responsible for air pollution. Sources of air pollution are combustion fired power plants, emission from industries, burn practices in agriculture and forestry management, burning fossil fuels, wood, fireplaces, stoves, furnaces and incinerator use in hospital, oil refinery power plant operations, fumes from paint, varnish, aerosol sprays and other solvents, military uses nuclear weapons, waste disposal in landfills which generate methane. Natural sources such of as pine trees which emit Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), volcanic activities, wild fires etc. There are various types of effects of air pollution such as damage to materials, vegetations, farm animals, darkening of sky and reduction in visibility, effect on human health and human activities. It can contribute to respiratory diseases like bronchitis, asthma, lung cancer lead poisoning in inhalation and ingestion and allergies and effects on materials like soil clothing, corroding metals, eroding building surfaces, discoloring. It also causes acid rain. To reduce air pollution we should take such steps like as- to develop infrastructural facilities of vehicles, to stop the improper land use planning, reduce the use of aerosols in households, reduce impure fuel. Car should as far as possible be fitted with catalytic converters. Use only unleaded petrol and awareness of people etc. Strategies taken for reducing air pollution in Dhaka City: Phase out of two stroke engine vehicles which really causes air pollution. Ban on leaded gasoline. Provision for catalytic converter and diesel particulate filter to the new vehicles as well as existing vehicles. Vehicles inspection stations have been constructed. Construction workshop for CNG conversion vehicles in both private and public sector. Instillation of CNG filling station. CNG operated bus, taxies and three wheelers. Development of vehicular emission standards for new and in-use vehicles. Establishment of continuous air monitoring state etc. Then we can save our air from air pollution. Niloya Paul, Mawlana Bhashani Science & Technology University, Tangail Source: The New Nation, June 09, 2008 |
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Turing hard wastes into assests The sound of Manik Miahs whistle is heard everyday at noon in sector five of Uttara, Dhaka. Manik and his two assistants collect rubbishes from houses of the area. He says there is something special in their garbage collection. The people of this neighbourhood keep organic (rotting) and inorganic (non-rotting) parts of wastes separately making it easier for them to collect those separately. This arrangement has been made because the trashes are used for recycling. Most of the rubbishes are rotting ones. Fertilisers are produced from the rotting wastes while inorganic ones are sold off,Manik Miah says. This has been possible because of an association set up by the residents of Uttara. The association got the idea of waste management from a non-government organisation named West Concern. This organisation has begun producing organic fertiliser commercially using garbage. Though some other NGOs collect garbage from the capitals different areas, Western Concern is the only one that is producing fertiliser. Currently, it is working in Dhakas four areas Mirpur, Green Road, Dhalpur and Kanchpur. Along with the developed countries, many developing countries like China, India, Indonesia and the Philippines also recycle garbage for reuse. With the organic parts of the wastes, they produce organic fertiliser, biogas, electricity, etc. Separating the inorganic part, they are making the whole of it suitable for reuse. Though not on large scale, efforts are on in Bangladesh for quite some time to utilise garbage. Initiatives are particularly being taken to produce fertiliser from organic part of hard wastes of urban areas and use the inorganic part containing plastic, lead, glass and different types of metals. Experts think with appropriate initiatives its possible to utilise the whole of hard wastes. A large number of rural people are migrating to towns in search of jobs. And the number is on the rise. According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, only 4.33 percent of the population used to live in towns in 1951 and it rose to 24 percent in 2001. There is a link between the increase in populace and that of wastes. If population increases, urbanisation goes up along with economic activities, resulting in increased generation of wastes. According to the World Bank, 10,742 tons of wastes used to be generated everyday in urban areas of Bangladesh in 1995. This went up to 13,200 tons in 2005, says West Concern. The amount of wastes is gradually increasing with the increase in population. The waste management is very important for the environment and protecting the public health. City corporations and municipalities are responsible for the waste management. But, their standard of service has not improved in line with the growing population. The allocated money for city corporations and municipalities for waste management and infrastructure is too inadequate. Besides, there is always a complaint of inadequate manpower, trucks and vans for transportation of wastes and containers to keep wastes temporarily. Field surveys by different city corporations like Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jaica) and West Concern show that the countrys city corporations and municipalities have the capacity of managing only 55 percent of the total wastes. So, about half of the wastes generated in urban areas remain uncollected. They remain littered on roads, drains and lowlands, creating a public nuisance. Besides, the whole process starting from collection to dumping through which city corporations and municipalities manage about 50 percent of the wastes is full of errors. In a town, the main sources of waste generation are domestic works, business centres, industries, factories, dusts, constructional materials, kitchen markets, hospitals and clinics. Of them, the amount of domestic waste is the highest. Under the process followed by city corporations and municipalities, organic and inorganic wastes are not separated. These two types of wastes are dumped in open dumpsites, where poor people look for food or inorganic materials like plastic, iron, glass, etc. Animals and birds also visit these open dumpsites, polluting the environment. Due to this faulty process of waste management, rubbish pickers also face various health problems. Mixing of wastes under the open sky and rainwater create a liquid substance called lichet that mixes with underground water. It contains chloride, lead, bronze, sodium etc. Lichet is mainly blamed for water pollution. Besides, there is a huge emission of greenhouse gas like methane, carbon dioxide and so on for the excessive presence of organic materials in the dumpsites. Theses gases are increasing the overall temperature of the world by damaging ozone layer. So, it is now clear that just dumping wastes outside centres of cities and towns is not an effective solution. Therefore, wastes will have to be utilised as best as possible. A research done by West Concern in 2005 shows 80 percent of wastes generated in urban areas is organic from which fertiliser can be produced. Of the remaining 20 percent inorganic waste, 6 percent can be made suitable for reuse. Only 14 percent of the wastes are to be dumped. Since most of the wastes can be utilised, the issue of using wastes must be given a serious consideration. If wastes are properly utilised, a large number of urban poor can be employed in the waste recycling jobs. Statistics provided by West Concern show that it is possible to create jobs for 16,000 people should wastes of Dhaka city can be utilised. There will be employments for 90,000 people if all the total wastes generated in urban areas can be used. Reprocessing is a sustainable strategy to reduce garbage, as it requires less space for waste dumping. So, wastes can be dumped on dumpsites or landfills for a long time. If reprocessing can be done, the unnecessary inorganic part (only 14 percent) will go to dumpsites. This will reduce environment pollution and health hazards. Greenhouse gas emission will stop from dumpsites. According to experts, for reprocessing, separation in the source is very important because this allows the maximum use of wastes. Currently, residents have to pay for the collection of wastes. If a system can be introduced where communities concerned and NGOs will have to buy the wastes from the local residents, then they will be more active in separating the organic and inorganic wastes on their own. This will ensure the use of most of the wastes. About producing fertiliser from organic wastes, Dhaka City Corporation engineer Dr Tarique bin Yusuf says, In order to make the programme of producing fertiliser from wastes, emphasis has to be given on issues like creating demand of organic fertiliser, marketing and prices so that farmers can get it easily at a reasonable price. As per United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), there will be no existence of any landfill by 2040. And there will have to be insinuators for poisonous wastes. As a signatory to it, it is obligatory for Bangladesh to protect the environment. It will be possible to achieve the UNEP goal, if the issue of recycling wastes receives proper government attention and cooperation. Source: The New Nation, June 13, 2008 |
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Indoor Pollution More than 60 percent of the country's total under-five children is living with high death or disability threat because of indoor pollution, says a study. It says 90 in 100 children on an average are affected by indoor air pollution every hour. People living in urban slums, high-rise apartments or in old and dark houses suffer the most. The indoor air pollutants infect almost 88 per cent of the total population. Citing statistics of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and EPA, the article says about 2.8 million premature deaths occur every year due to indoor air pollution. As many as 80 percent of all diseases in the world are associated with water usage or poor environmental hygiene. The household environment of the poor people, especially women and children in developing countries, carries the biggest risks to health. A study conducted by Environment and Social Development Organisation (ESDO) mentioned that both the urban and rural areas face the greatest threat from indoor pollution, where about 11 crore people continue to rely on traditional fuels such as firewood, charcoal, and cow dung, LPG or natural gas and crude oil for cooking and heating. Concentrations of indoor pollutants in households that burn traditional fuels are alarming. Burning such fuels produces large amount of smoke and other air pollutants in the confined space of a home, resulting in high exposure. Women and children are the groups most vulnerable as they spend more time indoors and are exposed to the smoke. The study says people spend their day in different places -- indoors at home and at work and outdoors on fields and crowded roads. These different places can have different levels of air pollution. How much pollution a person breathes depends very much on whether he or she is rich or poor, man or woman and infant or elderly. The study indicates that particulate matters concentrate in kitchens due to the burning of bio-fuels which are known to be as higher as 30-55 times as per the WHO standard, while concentrations at the workplace for primary workers can be as high as 15-25 times the standard. Though outdoor concentrations are about 2.5-3.5 times in urban and rural Bangladesh as per the WHO standard, it is 10-15 times the standard in the country's slums. Air pollution causes a range of health impacts from increasing the risk of death to increased asthma attacks, causing losses of income and greater medical expenses. The study estimates that the deaths and asthma attack due to various forms of indoor pollution are three times higher nationwide than outdoor pollution. Though most research efforts and media attention have focused on outdoor air pollution, the indoor air situation, which is most important for human life, has been ignored. The study found that about 80-100 per cent of women and children are exposed daily to indoor pollution. The ESDO study targeted infants living in slums at Dhaka and also studied their health status. The study conducted by Dr Hossain Shahriar says the World Bank in 1992 designated indoor air pollution in the developing countries as one of the four most critical global environmental problems. Daily averages of pollutant level emitted indoors often exceed the current WHO guidelines and acceptable levels. He says although several hundred separate chemical agents have been identified in the smoke from bio-fuels, the four most serious pollutants are particulate, carbon monoxide, polycyclic organic matter, and formaldehyde. According to the study of the ESDO and EPA of the USA, in urban areas, exposure to indoor air pollution has increased due to a variety of reasons, including the construction of more tightly sealed buildings, reduced ventilation, the use of synthetic materials for building and furnishing and the use of chemical products, pesticides, and household care products. Indoor air pollution can begin within the building or be drawn in from outdoors. Other than nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and lead, there are a number of other pollutants that affect the air quality in an enclosed space. “Unfortunately, little has been done to monitor the poor indoor environment both in rural and urban areas,” the study says. Source: The Daily Star, June 14, 2008 |
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The delegation members deserve appreciation for raising the demand because saving the Buriganga has become a matter of concern for the entire nation, whose interest is not only the protection of the Buriganga but also of other rivers and water bodies, including the Balu, the Turag and the Sitalakhya. Water is the most crucial element for survival of all living organisms, which is why it is the main reason of our interest.