Buriganga is one of the most polluted rivers in Bangladesh. It flows next to the south-western outskirts of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.
The reason for the critical condition is the gigantic amount of pollution, which flows into the river every day. Attempts to solve this problem have been made for over 10 years.
In 2010 Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) prepared a written petition in order to obtain decisions obliging to take effective measures to prevent water pollution in Buriganga, which is filled with industrial, hospital, brick and polyethylene kiln waste, but mostly waste produced by citizens.
The entity responsible for the high level of pollution is WASA (Water Supply & Sewerage Authority), a government agency of Bangladesh. On 1st June 2011 the Court called WASA to take immediate action to stop landfilling in Buriganga and close all sewage and industrial wastewater lines connected to the river within six months.
The verdict was unsuccessful, so the Court called the guilty parties and expressed their dissatisfaction – unfortunately without success. On September 2020 the court warned the managing director of WASA against the non-execution of the judgment. At the same time, court expressed dissatisfaction with the delay and non-performance of the judgment as promised, stating that WASA deliberately failed to perform the judgment.
According to the latest report, there are 68 sewer connections in Buriganga, 56 belonging to WASA. WASA disputes the accuracy of this information and refuses to take appropriate action.
Aleksandra Zakrzewska
Source: en.prothomalo.com.