Saving water-bodies around Dhaka

Figure-1: Dhaka City with Narayangonj Legend: 1= Tongi Bridge, 2= River Tongi Khal, 3= River Turag, 4= River Balu, 5= Amin Bazar Bridge, 6= River Buriganga near Sadarghat, 7= River Sitalakhya at Demra, 8= Buriganga Bridge-1, 9= Kanchpur Bridge, 10= River Dhaleswari, 11= River Mewghna.

Now Dhaka City is continued with Narayangonj District Town since the low land in DND (Dhaka-Narayangonj-Demra) embankment area in between has been turned into a human settlement. Therefore the greater Dhaka City is literally surrounded by rivers on all sides. The river on the north and north-west is the Turag. Buriganga runs through the west covering the south-western part. The parts of Turag downstream of Tongi to the Balu river coming down from Pubail is termed Tongi Khal. The Balu receiving the so-called Tongi Khal at Trimuhini near Maynartek (the north-east ebb of Uttara) runs on the eastern side of the growing Uttara, Basundhara, Beraid and Meradia and falls in the Sitalakhya at Demra. The Sitalakhya then runs on the south-eastern side of Dhaka and by the eastern side of Narayangonj Town falls in the Dhaleswari (that in turn falls in the Meghna near Munshiganj).

Since many of the country's people long to live in Dhaka and they are not very law-abiding, most of the rivers surrounding the capital city Dhaka are being encroached upon by a number of influential people illegally. The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) identified many illegal structures on both banks of the Buriganga. The identified illegal structures in May, 2001 was 204, while in July (same year) the number rose to 309 on the banks of the river Buriganga alone. The environmental activists, however, assert that the illegal structures may be as high as 5,000.

Besides encroachments, the rivers are polluted by discharge of industrial effluents into river water, indiscriminate throwing of household, clinical, pathological and commercial wastes, and discharge of fuel and human excreta. In fact, these rivers have become a dumping ground of all kinds of solid, liquid and chemical waste of bank-side population. These activities have caused narrowing of all the rivers and disruption of the normal flow of water. As the water of the rivers has become very polluted the aquatic life there has almost been extinguished. A survey in 1999 revealed that the water of Buriganga, Turag, Dhaleshwari, Balu and Tongi Khal flowing around the greater Dhaka City had been completely polluted. The report concluded that the water of these rivers posed a serious threat to public life and was unfit for human use. People, living near the rivers, use the water because they are unaware of the health risks and also having no other alternative. This causes incidents of water borne diseases including the skin diseases.

Movement and actions
As response to this alarming situation in and around Dhaka City a number of environmental groups are performing active roles in protecting the natural environment. Of these organisations, Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon (BAPA) is the most active one. BAPA so far arranged demonstration, sit down strike, seminar, public meeting, public gathering and demonstration, boat rally in the Burignaga. Most of these activities are, however, centered round the Buriganga or western Turag. Few were arranged against the pollution (not encroachment) in the eastern front.

The government actions against encroachment and illegal structures on the rivers are also mainly on the Buriganga and the western Turag. Some illegal structures on the Buriganga were demolished during the last caretaker government. Such actions are being taken also during the present government. Several structures on the western Turag were demolished including that of actor Dipjal recently.

Other than Buriganga
There are encroachments on the Turag, the Tongi Khal, also the Balu and the Sitalakhya. There are found a number of illegal structures (some spinning mills) on the northern bank of Tongi Khal at Pagar area only about one kilometer downstream of the Tongi Railway Bridge point. During the last dry season soil filling went on in broad daylight. Later the mills were found expanded by erecting a new row of buildings! The survey result on pollution in 1999 was described earlier. The situation now got worse.

The circular waterway
A circular waterway round the Capital City was being planned for several years to ease the road traffic jam inside the city. lastly a 29.05-kilometer such waterway from Sadarghat to Ashulia was opened for the people in March this year. For this purpose a total of 16.5 lakh cubic metres of soil has been dredged from the Turag and the Buriganga to increase the navigability of the 29.50km channel.

The depth and width of 16km channel from Sadarghat to Mirpur Bridge is 12 feet (3.66 metres) and 200 feet (60 metres) and the depth and width of the 13.50 km channel from Mirpur Bridge to Ashulia is 8 feet (2.44 metres) and 120 feet (36.5 metres).

The circular waterway is not working well because people's need is otherwise. May be people of Ashulia need to go to Motijheel or Kanchpur not Sadarghat and most people from Sadarghat area, perhaps, like to reach Uttara or Tongi shortly, not Ashulia.

However, the dredged rivers have become more navigable and if a few vessels run through this route daily the grabbers may think twice before encroachment.

The second phase of circular waterway, which will cover 40.5 kilometers from Ashulia to Kanchpur via Tongi by the eastern side of the city is waiting for the approval of the Planning Commission.

The project concept paper of the second phase of the waterway, involving a cost of Tk 294 crore, was submitted to the ministry of shipping in January. But still the project could not be implemented. This phase of the waterway would be completed under three organisations Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority, Dhaka City Corporation and the Local Govern-ment Engineering Department let them do it soon.

For, if the second phase is implemented as soon as possible the pollution of this route would also decrease substantially, and the encroachers would not proceed further.

Abdus Sattar Molla is a Specialist, NCTB, Dhaka.