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WITH the devastating floods hitting the country very hard, the city's waste management has virtually collapsed, There are a few places where waste can be dumped. Even dumped wastes are being seen for consecutive days. No scavengers are seen collecting them. The rains are making the situation worse.
Floodwaters that have engulfed the city roads and thoroughfares are emitting stinking odour as the city's drainage system has also collapsed. Filthy garbage from the water and sewerage system has mixed up with the gushing floodwaters and made the situation 'hellish'.
As the office-goers and visitors need to wade through floodwaters on the roads, many are complaining of severe rash on their legs that touch the polluted water. Water-borne diseases like diarrhoea, jaundice and fever have spread in epidemic form. Wastes remain accumulated everywhere, polluting the city's environment endlessly.
Wastes from city's industrial units, commercial centres and hospitals are mainly responsible for polluting the environment. According to reports, 5000 tons of waste produced in the capital is deposited in the low-lying areas daily. Toxic waste trickles down and gets mixed with the underground water. An Environment Department study says that every millilitre of drinking water carries 230 to 450 harmful coliform germs in the low-lying areas.
The study also suggests that huge low-lying areas filled with refuse in Jatrbari-Kajla contain materials like polythene and plastic. These materials will never be decomposed and absorbed by the soil. Similar is the situation with the link road adjacent to Kamalapur area. Garbage float few inches thick on the lakes in Khilgaon Bagicha and Khilgaon Chowdhurypara area.
The Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) is vested with the responsibility of waste management in the city, ranging from collection of waste to its dumping. The DCC can hardly cope with the situation with its fleet of 5300 cleaners. Whatever refuse they clear cannot be disposed of properly due to lack of adequate space. The 70-acre dumping ground is already filled. Earlier, Golapbagh dumping ground was abandoned following its overfilling. The corporation bought another piece of land in Bhashatek but found that huge waste had already been gathered there. Search for more space for dumping garbage continues.
According to the study, the tanneries are the main culprits behind making the environment polluted. The city witnessed phenomenal growth of tanneries in Hazaribagh from the end of 1950. At present, there are 249 tanneries there. An FAO report says 240 tones of leather is processed in the tanneries of Bangladesh of which 220 tons are processed in Hazaribagh.
Investigation found that toxic chemical gases emitted by the tanneries damage household items and furniture. Corrugated iron sheets close to the tanneries are also affected. Aluminium and copper utensils and even ornaments are gradually eroding away.
Though the tanneries are located in Hazaribagh and Lalbagh, the poisonous gas fills the adjacent areas including Rayerbazar, Jigatata and parts of Dhanmondi. Due to pollution caused by the tanneries, more than two million people in an area of 10 kms are affected.
A survey by the Leather Industry Association says 85,000 people work in the tanneries, but most of them are ignorant of the their dreaded effects. The level of bio-chemical oxygen, alkalinity, chloride, oil and grease found in the discharged waste is more than the bearable amount. Of every thousand workers, 893.85 suffer from health disorders. Tannery workers are particularly susceptible to tuberculosis, chest pain, jaundice, fever, diarrhoea, asthma, cough and cold, rheumatic fever and blood pressure problems, the survey said.
The government could not as yet set up a plant to control pollution and treat waste from the Hazaibagh tanneries. Earier, the eastern side of the area was linked with the river Buriganga. During that period, waste was discharged in the river in the absence of an embankment. But soon the Dhaka Flood Protection Embankment was constructed in 1988 along the bank of river Buriganga. Yet numerous slums developed on the embankment and as such, discharge of the waste was severely obstructed. At a later stage, several pumps were installed, but those were of no use for the waste disposal purpose.
Not only the tanneries, industrial units were allowed to grow up in Tejgaon, Dhania, Kajla, Demra and other areas in flagrant violation of the city's environmental code of conduct. The city's population is growing at a geometrical proportion, so also are growing small industries indiscriminately. Urbanisation is progressing without forward-looking plans. The environmental degradation is accelerating along with the outbreak of diseases. Waste in urban areas is produced from various sources like hotels, factories, business centres, hospitals, kitchen markets and construction sites.
The DCC has set up dustbins in every locations but those are highly mismanaged. Devoid of civic sense, people are seldom seen properly putting the garbage inside the dustbins, rather they prefer it to put up those on the open space close to these dustbins. As such, garbage containers have become the source of multiple problems. Refuse collected in them emit a bad odour. Left to rot in the open sky, the refuge becomes toxic. Animals are found scavenging the garbage. Garbage-laden pickups not only emit odour but also leave a trail of waste strewn on the main streets.
Most of the kitchen markets in the capital are overflowing with filth. It is a chaotic mess over there. Added to this, the pressure of human waste is increasing at an abnormal rate. Eveyday 10 million people defecate a total of 10 million cubic feet of human waste, most of which remain untreated. The human waste treatment plant at Pagla has a capacity of treating only 50,000 cubic metres of waste. As such, much to miseries of the citizens, the sewerage lines overflow with human waste and are deposited in the open canals and rivers.
What is needed at this moment is a proper waste management plan. Such projects can be initiated by the local government agencies, especially the DCC, in cooperation with some private sector agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Some NGOs like Waste Concern, Prism etc., are already in the field. The development partners are also eager to fund such projects relating to waste management.
The waste can be utilised for productive proposes. The developed countries are recycling the waste to produce papers, plastics, bags, glasses etc. Bangladesh can easily go for such projects that are beneficial to its economy. The waste can also be recycled into organic fertilizer, creating employment opportunities for the unemployed. Demand for organic fertilizer is rising in the country as the farmers have already realised its importance. Wastewater treatment plants are also on the cards as those could produce a kind of fresh hyacinths to be used as fish food or can be dried and mixed with fodder for poultry and cattle.
Unless a crash programme is worked out, the situation is not expected to improve. Appropriate waste management plan is a dire necessity to get rid of the nagging pollution and environmental hazards.
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