Editorial
Polluted rivers and environmental cost
When will the authorities wake up to the danger?
IF a picture expresses thousand words then the one in the front page of The Daily Star yesterday, showing two workers of a chemical plant at Kamarpara in Tongi, washing sacks that had contained toxic chemical in the Turag, little caring for the damage they are doing to the ecosystem, should amply illuminate the multi-frontal threats that our environment is subjected to everyday. This must be a daily chore carried out with impunity, because causing environmental pollution is a punishable offence.
Of the many aspects of our environment like air, land, water, and biodiversity, the one that perhaps has come under the most severe abuse and mistreatment is our rivers and water bodies. And we forget all too often the very important fact that these rivers are not only the main sustainer of life in Bangladesh they are also the prime means of its economic growth and development.
This paper over many years has been consistently exposing through its columns the degradation of the quality of surface water in Bangladesh caused by the unchecked flow of industrial effluence into the rivers. But this is not the only source of pollution. According to experts, to the industrial waste is added municipal waste, runoff pollution from chemical fertilizers and pesticides and oil. And one doesn't need to be an expert to know that the toxic elements are diffused in the foods consumed by us and that are produced using the contaminated water. The ultimate victims are the people.
There are appropriate laws related to the issue, the problem, as usual, is that of implementation. Regrettably, government oversight in this matter has been far from satisfactory, and we know of no instance where a defaulting chemical plant or any other industrial unit has been fined for polluting the system, notwithstanding the existence of relevant laws and regulations. We understand that sometimes, in spite of the best intentions of the department of environment it has been helpless to plug the legal loopholes exploited by defaulters and their use of economic rhetoric.
It was time the administration woke up to the dangers of environmental pollution, which are very real and immediate, particularly contamination of the rivers. We suggest that it form immediately a high powered committee that should include experts in the field and suggest measures that should include the ways and means to make the DOE more effective in implementing the laws. We also feel that there is need to sensitise members of the society on this very important issue.
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