No room for negligence in tackling alarming river pollution: PM

Warning that river pollution has reached an alarming level, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman today (6 August) instructed the authorities to take strict and coordinated measures to protect the Buriganga and other rivers around the capital.

“River pollution has now reached an unbearable stage. If we fail to take effective measures now, we will have to answer to future generations,” he said while addressing a meeting on the “Improvement of Water and Environment of the Buriganga River” at the Cabinet Division conference room in Secretariat.

Tarique Rahman also asked the officials concerned to formulate and implement a comprehensive action plan to restore the rivers surrounding Dhaka, said PM’s Deputy Press Secretary Shahadat Shadhin.

“There is no room for negligence in taking strict and coordinated steps to prevent pollution. Alongside preparing the action plan, its effective implementation must also be ensured,” Shadhin quoted the prime minister as saying.

The meeting reviewed the environmental condition of the Buriganga, Turag, Balu, Shitalakkhya and other rivers surrounding Dhaka and discussed the major sources of pollution, existing challenges and long-term solutions.

Untreated industrial effluents, inadequate sewerage and drainage systems, declining canal navigability and poor solid waste management were identified at the meeting as the main causes of pollution in the rivers surrounding the capital.