Editorial
Don't pollute while you clean
That is the message to heed
THE project to clean a one-kilometre stretch of Buriganga near Sadarghat Launch Terminal Bangladesh piloted by Bangladesh Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) is a commendable move to restore as much is possible of the beautiful Buriganga that we lost to mindless dumping of wastes and occupation of its banks by encroachers.
While appreciating the move that witnessed the participation of a number ministries, a local lawmaker and civil society representatives, one cannot be but dismayed at the behaviour of the riverside fruit and vegetable sellers who have been found to dispose of their rubbish indiscriminately into the river. This defeats the whole purpose of the clean-up drive undertaken at the Sadarghat terminal. But what can the government do to prevent the garbage throwers in absence of a simultaneous move by it to prevent dumping of such wastes into the river?
So, for success, the initiators of the Buriganga clean-up drive need to involve the community in the task. That would need an enhanced awareness campaign among the people who live and work on the banks of the river about the harmful consequences of their actions on the river. At the same time, cooperation of the major sources of the pollutants like the effluent releasing plants, the hospitals and dyeing works should be sought to make the cleaning drive produce result.
While the government needs to initiate anti-dumping measures simultaneous with the clean-up drive, it should also take care to ensure that its own dumping site is non-controversial. For the one assigned in Amin Bazar has faced protest from an environment lawyers' group that say the site in question is a floodplain and hence illegal under the law as a waste disposal ground. Such controversies need to be avoided and here again the question of involving the community arises for the overall success of such clean-up drive.
In spite of the limitations, the present move to clear Buriganga, which has become a veritable garbage yard, is in itself a good move. Now the question is one of seeing that the present endeavour is not a one-off one. The tempo has to be kept alive and to that end the coordinated approach of the ministries, departments concerned and involvement of local communities should continue. The media, the government's publicity organs, the pro-environment groups and the civil society need also keep their campaigns in force.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments