Editorial
A big threat to public health
Demolish the racket behind lagoon fish culture
DESPICABLE is the word that can partially define the practice of catching poisonous fish from waste treatment plant lagoons and selling them in the markets for human consumption. And we are appalled to learn that this heinous practice has been going on for years together in the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) lagoons in and around Pagla, Narayanganj, though officially there is a 10-year old ban on fishing in lagoon waters. According to experts, poisonous components in lagoon fish can stay in human body for 8 to10 years, causing kidney and lever diseases including cancer. Therefore, authorities should have been doubly concerned at the health risks of the citizens. A back-page news item in this daily on Saturday spoke alleged involvement of a section of employees of WASA, local fishermen and on-duty ansars in the scam defying office orders.
The lagoon waters contain heavy metal, industrial waste and human waste, thereby forming a lethal combination for fish cultivation. To discourage fishing, as part of its yearly drive, WASA in association with the department of fisheries had applied chemicals in two of the 16 lagoons to kill the poisonous fish. The authorities also had plans to apply poison to the waters in all the other lagoons. But, before all the fish could be killed, local people in collaboration with the security guards started to catch them to sell in local kitchen markets. And it is apparent that thousands of people have already consumed the poisonous fish to their peril.
We wonder why the planned boundary walls around the lagoons have not yet been constructed as an effective solution to the problem since it is not possible to guard a huge area for twenty-four hours. At the same time we strongly feel the WASA authorities should come down heavily on the security guards and other employees who are entrusted with the responsibility of sequestering the lagoon waters. The racket has to be busted once and for all considering the hazards of eating contaminated fish to human health. This must be taken up as a priority issue by WASA and the relevant ministries.
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