The river is being contaminated by industrial waste, waste from government organizations as well as household waste
People need to be more careful to reduce pollution of the Buriganga River, said speakers at a meeting organized by the Waterkeepers Bangladesh Consortium’s Anti-Pollution Advocacy Project.
The event was chaired by the Coordinator of Waterkeepers Bangladesh and Executive Director of the Blue Planet Initiative Sharif Jamil. Noor Alam Chowdhury, councilor of Ward 55 of Dhaka South City Corporation, was present as the special guest.
The meeting was moderated by MM Kabir Mamun, an official of Waterkeepers Bangladesh.
In his speech, Sharif Jamil said the river will flow at its own course according to the Water Act 2013. The people of the river bank have to understand that they are responsible for the river, and they should be aware to protect it.
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He added that 60% of the rivers around Dhaka are polluted by industrial waste, 30% by waste from government organizations and 10% by household waste. In addition to raising awareness of pollution, there needs to be changes to policy and the legal framework
The consortium is formed by Waterkeepers Bangladesh, the Department of Geography and Environment at Jahangirnagar University, and the Department of Environmental Sciences under Stamford University’s Centre for Atmospheric Pollution Studies (CAPS under the guidance of USAID, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Counterpart International).
Noor Alam Chowdhury said: “We used to drink water from the Buriganga River. Now, you can’t go to the river bank because of the foul smell of this water. We are working to raise awareness.”
Professor Ahmed Kamruzzaman said powerful people occupy and pollute the river.
“We have to work together to free the river from land grabbers and contamination,” he added.
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