Bangladeshi mobile telecommunication brand Aktel changes name to Robi

Bangladeshi mobile operator Aktel (Axiata Bangladesh) has changed its name to Robi with the launch of a new logo. By changing the name to a Bengali word, the company aims at aligning its services with local culture and tradition.

Robi, meaning sun, is also very familiar to all Bangla speaking people as it is in the Bengali name of poet Rabindranath Tagore. The company has 10.35 million subscribers as of February and plans to further expand coverage in the near future.

It also plans to launch new products, services and offers including rates from BDT 0.40-1.48 per minute, multiple bill plans, and flat rates. It will continue to invest this year and will focus on rural penetration and bring products like m-commerce, m-marketing and m-remittance.

will continue the ongoing CSR engagements like English in Schools, which is being held in partnership with The Daily Star, to help English learning in one thousand schools across the country.

In its pursuit to support the government for Digital Bangladesh initiative, Robi will continue to collaborate in establishing internet connectivity in the primary schools across the country. This will give due opportunities to the children of this land to develop themselves as able leaders of tomorrow at all fronts.

Traffic Jam in Dhaka city , Bangladesh

Traffic jam in Dhaka is vary common problem. Every day we are facing jam. Government take some positive step .Otherwise we are going big problem in our daily life. I live in Dhaka khilgaon , only 20 minutes away from my office Eskaton . but I get out from my house about 1 hour and 30 minutes before . Because of terrible traffic jam, I remember a week, right after Eid-ul-Fitr Dhaka city was like half empty, at that week I went to office in 20 minutes. Dhaka is a mega city. More than twelve million people live here. Day by day the number is increasing and most part of Dhaka is badly affected by the population growth. More than 7 hundred thousand rickshaws ply the city road, but only 75 thousand have legal number. This huge number of rickshaws is creating traffic jam. From time to time attempts are made to reduce the number, but the initiative usually produces no results. The number of rickshaw pullers is huge. Almost there are no roads or street or lane free from traffic jam.Traffic jam is obstructing trade and commerce. Illegal parking is another reason for traffic jam. Cars, trucks and other vehicles are parked almost everywhere. Faulty traffic signaling systems, inadequate manpower and narrow road spaces and overtaking tendency of drivers create pro-longed traffic congestions and intensify sufferings of commuters keeping people motionless as well as creating suffocating condition in the streets. Also there are bus terminals not authorized by the traffic department and drivers do not go by traffic rules. VIP protocol maintaining is another reason for frequent traffic jams in the streets and divider problem in the city’s different important roads also causes congestion. Besides, illegal car parking, and unplanned road excavating on the same road by Water and Sewer Authority (WASA), Dhaka Electric Supply Authority (DESA), telephone and telegraph agencies without any integration among them, is responsible for intolerable traffic jams. In any roundabout in Dhaka the plying CNG, ricksha, bus, etc form multiple lines. They do this to grab a tiny space out of sheer desperation. Behavioral scientists have long since done experiments to show that even insects demonstrate aggressive behavior when they are placed in a crowded situation. Therefore, it comes as no surprise to see that Dhaka’s pedestrians, thelawallahs, rickshaw pullers, CNG drivers, van pullers, and bus/truck drivers all vie for tiny spaces with noticeable aggression and utter disregard for others’ right of way. This obviously creates serious problems such as unnecessary traffic holdup and minor fender bender incidences. Nonetheless, there is a price tag for such bizarre behavior. The traffic managers have failed to do anything about this problem and the situation is going from bad to worse day by day.

Most of time, I see that during jam traffic police just let one side go for like 5 minutes or more which increase the jam more. They should manage it more professionally; they could let go each side 1 minute.

To reduce traffic jam we can take steps such as:

• Have a good public transport system so people would use it
• Ban rickshaw from the main roads of Dhaka
• Good traffic system
• Good lane system
• Traffic police should do their duty properly
• Use zebra cross and foot over bridge
• Respect the law

The root, stem and leaf of the problem
Contrary to popular belief, Dhaka city is a planned city. Patrick Geddes made the first plan during the British rule which was followed by the plan made by the Pakistan government in 1956 and finally the Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan in 1990.

‘Unfortunately, because of population pressure, economic growth and mismanagement the city has outstripped the plan,’ says Dr Amanat Ullah Khan, professor of geography at Dhaka University.

According to the older plans, the Tejgaon Industrial area, the cantonment and most of the rail crossing were constructed outside the city parameters. Unfortunately, they all lie in the heart of the city, at present.

Nearly 40 per cent of city space is occupied by campuses of DU, BUET, Jagannath, Dhaka Cantonment, BDR cantonment, the courts, where public transports find very limited space, experts opine.

‘With mass transport not allowed through BUET and DU it creates excessive pressure on the adjoining roads,’ says one senior police official, ‘also, the judge court and Jagannath University has eat up the most important parts of Old Dhaka,’ he adds.

He says, that because of the location of the Press Club at Segunbagicha, a large number of processions, demonstrations start from there causing massive congestion in that busy area.

While relocating some of these establishments may not be feasible any longer, especially since the university campuses have become an integral part of city life, experts believe, that the authorities in these institutions could allow a better flow of traffic during extreme traffic scenarios and the government should develop alternate roads and flyover along these places to smoothen the flow of traffic.

While very little can be done to change the larger picture now, there are a number of smaller factors which aggravate the traffic situation in the city.

The uncoordinated road digging by Dhaka City Corporation (DCC), Dhaka Electric Supply Authority (DESA), Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA), Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB), Titas Gas and other utility service providers together make reasons for further road congestion, say experts.

The city’s numerous rail crossings and the influx of rickshaws into the capital from different places of the country with the advent of the Ramadan make road traffic stagnant, especially during this time.

Each day around 80 trains enter and exit the city, which causes six hours halt of traffic in total through each level crossing. Such types of level crossing create intolerable congestion at Magbazar, Mohakhali, Staff road, Karwan Bazar and other places.

According to the office of traffic control there are 76,000 licensed rickshaws in Dhaka though the actual figure is above 600,000. ‘An additional 100,000 rickshaws enter the city during Eid just to make additional income,’ says one senior traffic official. Moreover, every year some 30,000 new vehicles are registered. And while officially there are 160,000 motorised vehicles registered, of which 4,800 consist of buses, the unauthorised numbers of vehicles are much higher. ‘Last year, more than 60,000 motorised vehicles were added to the existing number of unregistered vehicles. Among them, nearly 50,000 were found in Dhaka alone,’ says Sayedur.

Although bus counters have been opened by many in the recent past but their unplanned establishments have resulted in the buses occupying road spaces that otherwise are essential for traffic flow. The buses stop randomly to pick up and drop passengers.

Most foot-over bridges and underpasses remain unutilised by the pedestrians reasoning dark and dodgy atmosphere inside as billboards block view from outside. Unhygienic passageways, steep stairs and pathway encroached by hawkers make it difficult to move on the bridge, say pedestrians. Although these all are true, the bottom line of the fact is that people are habituated and thus love using the shortest way by crossing over the street. Now, that it poses risk for the vehicles and create unnecessary traffic block let apart risking the pedestrians’ lives, are not their concern.

Many compressed natural gas (CNG) refuelling stations and petrol pumps are located near to the intersections that disturb the streets when large queues of vehicles break into the road. Although there is rule to set up refuelling stations having vacant spaces to accommodate thirty vehicles to wait inside the compound, it has been overlooked.

The government is to blame for the chaos when it approves universities, commercial establishments, garment factories, schools, clinics and wholesale kitchen markets at the residential areas that make life mess for those living in the community.

A lot of the plush shopping malls in the city have resulted in illegal road occupation by vehicles. Between Panthapath and Sonargaon intersection the traffic jam at anytime of the day is horrible because of the city’s biggest shopping mall constructed in the area, urban researchers allege.

And though the market offers a parking space of 1,200 vehicles, here too the people are habituated and love to park them on the street so that they can come out of the market and drive away fast without having to go down the parking space, pay for the parking ticket and look for the driver.

Officials at the traffic department believe that the fines for traffic violations are too meagre to raise fear for the violators. The red signal violation fine is only Tk 250 and illegal parking is only Tk 200.

Outside the mall and right beside the road, occupation of tea-stalls and shops make difficult for pedestrians to use the pathway.

‘We should not establish new commercial establishments in the already congested places. High-rise commercial structures should be built outside city to keep the balance, says professor Nurul Islam Nazem of the Centre for Urban Studies.

The way out
The city’s lone dependency on surface transportation system should be diversified to monorail, metro rail, and elevated expressways, Nazem believes. ‘Dhaka is turning into an “uneconomical city”,’ he says for the more time it takes for travelling now and the traffic jams increasing the cost of travelling.

Not only is the economy losing out from the increased cost of fuel but traffic jams sometimes result in deterioration of perishable goods in an existing food crisis, says a traffic official.

‘Since our traffic management system is extremely poor, the laws should be updated and monitored carefully and regularly,’ added Nazem.

‘There should be a whole “park” to educate on traffic system for the residents and children especially since one of the main reasons for road accidents and drivers not following rules is because of the abundance of fake licences,’ says Sayedur Rahman, deputy commissioner of Traffic Division (south) of DMP.

At the core of traffic congestion, development of traffic management is the need of time, says Nazem.

Experts recommend that flyovers be constructed at important intersections to reduce traffic congestion. Expressways should be introduced for passengers to cover long distances over busy routes, like from Gabtoli to Motijheel, directly without any stoppage.

Nazem recommends development of river front to bring the surrounding rivers under the transportation system. ‘If the water way can be developed, time can be saved and the pressure over the city roads could be reduced.’

Lack of east-west connecting roads is another cause of this problem so people have to use the north-southward transports more to reach locations connecting to the east-west, says Sohel Rana, assistant police commissioner of the southern traffic department. Government has planned east-west connecting roads over the Rangs Bhaban, Hatirjheel and at airport near Zia colony to ensure easy plying of vehicles.

‘Mass transit such as buses has to be drawn attention to at this point,’ recommends Sayedur. More roads should be freed from rickshaws and encroached street spaces should be recovered to expand walkways and ensure traffic flow. The inter district bus terminals have to be relocated at the city’s outskirts. ‘Most importantly, public awareness should be raised on to maintain signals, use foot over bridges more and respect traffic laws,’ he says. ‘We need proper enforcement of traffic laws.’

‘Public transport should be encouraged and once people feel that the public transportation is more effective, they would limit their use of private vehicles,’ says Dr K M Maniruzzaman, professor of the department of urban and regional planning, BUET. ‘The better thing to do is to discourage the number of commuters using single vehicle, improvement of public transportation is the only answer to discourage use of excessive private vehicles,’ he adds.

The biggest problem is actually related to our policies. Integration of public transportation routes is essential. ‘The main reason why the circular waterway failed was because of lack of integration. Suppose a commuter using the circular waterway, after he gets down from the boat, he has to have an immediate mode of transport to get in to the city. These routes should have been integrated,’ Sayedur explains.

‘The population has developed beyond its capacity but the physical capacity of the roads did not increase and secondly, to run the system, we must have effective managers with proper traffic education,’ says Amanat.

The traffic police responsible to look after the twisted mess over Dhaka’s road transportation however perform their duties without an institutional training. With the existing manpower of about 2,200 to uphold traffic discipline on the 3,000 kilometres separated between 376 points, traffic officials complain of exhaustion and frustration between them.

‘When we are investing so much to hire coaches to train our cricket team, we might as well think of hiring effective city managers, who will be like coaches and educate us on properly utilising available road space and train the city managers to run the city properly,’ Amanat added.

Commercial and academic failure ‘One of the major drawbacks in the country’s business infrastructure happens to be traffic congestion,’ says Hossain Khaled, President of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI).

‘We are often in dilemma when it comes to estimate the amount of time it would require to deliver a specific consignment because of traffic congestions.’

He regrets saying, that traffic congestion problem is discouraging lot of international investors. ‘I had once recommended a foreign business delegation to setup their factory at Ishwardi, because the place has effective gas supply and good communication with Dhaka. However, that group totally felt discouraged because, although it should take three and half hours to reach there without any stoppage but because of traffic jams, its completely unknown how much time it would actually require.’

Traffic congestion is not only affecting our business but the education sector as well. M Asiuzzaman, assistant professor, department of media and journalism, University of Liberal Arts, said ‘students cannot do other tasks such as photocopying or collecting notes before attending class in the morning because a lot of time gets wasted on traffic congestions. It wastes lot of working hours of students as well as teachers. In many occasions, students and teachers fail to attend classes in due time. And it is more painful when students fail to reach exam halls and fails just due to a social problem’.

The future
Recently, the government has taken up the Strategic Transport Plan (STP) to curb the existing crisis.

ABM Shahjahan, executive director of Dhaka Transport Coordination Board (DTCB) says that in Dhaka the total length of the road route is 2000 km but among them, buses are plying over only 200 km. On this 200 km route, a special and dedicated bus lane is going to be introduced to encourage mass transit.

‘On the first phase of the STP (Strategic Transport Plan), we will phase out the unfit vehicles from the DMP list. ‘Multi modal transportation’ system should be introduced immediately, not depending solely on the surface routes. Circular waterway would be introduced, which will reduce fuel consumption by 30 to 40 percent. Underground railway and elevated expressway will be introduced under STP’ he added.

Shahjahan said more that the fines for violating traffic laws during peak hours would increase from the existing Tk 200 to Tk 500.

Motor Vehicles Ordinance 1983 and Motor Vehicles Law 1984 are going to be updated and under this reform, drivers of the vehicles cannot escape his responsibility upon wrongdoing.

The major projects undertaken in the strategic transport plan (STP) are highway schemes included in phase one, within in 2005 to 2009, are from Zia Colony to Mirpur, Panthapath to Rampura (via duct road), Malibagh to Janapath and an intensive traffic management programme.

Two surveys on BRTA and bus route priority measure will be conducted also on that phase.

Highways such as Agargaon to Mirpur section 2, Bangla College to Kafrul, Gulistan to Jatrabari, Maghbazar to Mouchak, flyover and an ‘elevated expressway’, metro system design and construction will be conducted on the second phase of STP within 2010 to 2014.

And in the third phase (2015 to 2019) upgrading of 330 km regional highways, the highway between eastern bypass to Dhaka bypass, eastern by-pass, western by-pass and Dhaka link road will be conducted.

And as the government’s programmes remain on the pipeline to develop Dhaka’s traffic, experts point out that unless the focus of development is drawn outside Dhaka country’s economy is unlikely to develop, say academicians. Administration should be decentralised and Dhaka should not be the only focus of administration and development activities. The seventeen other towns of the country which formerly served as district headquarters have growth potentials but are not given much attention. If developed they can be turned into the country’s second-rank metropolises. Development in the urban areas is inevitable in order to reduce the traffic from Dhaka.

water crisis in Dhaka city

People stand in a queue to collect WASA water at Moghbazar
in Dhaka on Monday as water crisis turns acute in different
areas of the capital.

Children bring out a silent procession with pitchers in south

Madartek in the capital yesterday demanding smooth water
supply. The area is experiencing acute water crisis despite
installation of a new pump there.

Residents of Pikepara of Mirpur in the capital queue up
with their vessels yesterday and wait for a Dhaka Wasa
water tanker as the area has been experiencing acute
water crisis for more than a month.

Water scarcity in the capital city Dhaka has worsened in the past few weeks due to frequent load shedding and fall in groundwater level. The people of Lalbagh, Kamalbagh, Islambagh, Nawabpur, Khilgaon, Mirpur, Hajaribagh, some parts of Mirpur and Mohammadpur, all part of Badda, Shewrapara, Kazipara, Paikpara, Kalabagan, Nayapaltan, Khilgaon, some parts of Moghbazar and Basabo alleged that they were acutely facing water crisis in the areas for the last couple of weeks. Recently Gulshan, Dhanmondi, Badda, Rampura and Bonhasri are facing water crisis.

Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) said they are producing 160 to 165 crore liters of water a day against a demand of 205 liters, WASA officials said, which is about 25 percent less than demand. Managing Director of WASA Raihanul Abedin, said: “We hope to solve the water problem in the next four years as some WASA projects including setting up a water treatment plant and replacing old pipelines will take some time.” On emergency basis, the WASA is supplying water by tank lorries in different areas including Kajipara, Dhanmondi, Nakhalpara, Rampura, Badda, Shahjadpur, Basabo, Mohammadpur, Monipuripara, Rajabazar, Gulshan, Uttara, Mohakhali and others parts of Dhaka Metropolitan Area. But people claimed “to get water from WASA lorry, we usually have to wait for 10 days.”

Blaming load shedding for the current deficit of water supply, Abedin said if smooth supply of electricity is ensured, WASA could nearly meet the city’s total need. Of the 505 water pumps of WASA, only 274 have generators, and the rest remain idle during load shedding. Also “A substantial quantity of water is wasted everyday due to leakage,” said the WASA chief. “Replacing old pipes and setting up new ones of around 3,800 km length will start soon and end by 2012.” To reduce dependence on ground water, they have already taken initiative for setting up, Abedin added.

Morsheda Akhter, a resident of Rampura, said, “When necessary, we have to use dirty water for bathing and cooking. When we complained to the landlord, WASA told us to buy purifying filter.” “Stinky, dirty water is our great problem. WASA officials said that they would try to solve our problem but the solution never came,” the commissioner of Rampura added. The commissioner also said “Our water is dirty because Buriganga and Shitalakkha rivers are polluted. The government is not taking any step to clean up these rivers.”

The WASA has 478 deep tube-wells in the city to meet 75 percent of the demand, which is also 86 percent of its supply. The rest 14 percent comes from surface water sources, said a WASA official.

WASA said load shedding is the main reason for water crisis in Dhaka; because WASA cannot operate pumps for about 9 to 10 hours every day.

Street People in Dhaka

Dhaka is the capital city of Bangladesh. Many of the 9 million people who live in Dhaka are very poor. Some of those who live in greatest poverty are the street children. There are up to 1 million street children living and working on the streets of Dhaka.

street children

street children

Some of the children are on the street - they work, play and spend most of their day with other children on the street but have families to return to at night. These children often help the family earn money by working on the streets.

street children

street children

Other children are of the street - they survive without family, entirely on their own, except for the company of other street children or those willing to help and support them.

CSKS is a Street Children programme in Dhaka which supports children of the street and is one of the Global Footprints partners.

This activity gives you a chance to learn more about the problems facing street children. Below is a list of dangers and difficulties that children of the street have to face. What do you think are the most serious problems facing young people who live and work on the streets?

“Jamir shar is a youngster whose age is close to thirteen. This parentless lad came to Dhaka city three years ago. He lost his parents in a road accident. With nobody to take care of him, he sells nuts in different areas of Dhaka city. He lives with a family at Pirjangi Mazar in Motijheel, taking his two meals with them and giving them his total income, which ranges from Taka 50 to 60.” (Dhaka Courier)

“Anwar Ali sells tea, biscuits and cigarettes in the city’s parks. He came to Dhaka from Mymensingh (a district in Bangladesh) five years ago. His two sons live in Mymensingh with their mother. Sometimes Anwar Ali goes to his village. He lives near Khilgaon Rail Gate and starts his work at dawn returning late to his house made out of waste plastic.” (Dhaka Courier)

“Haris Ali, 40, lives at night in front of Sonali Bank at Motiheel Head Office. He came to Dhaka five years ago. At first, he was a laborer in Kamlapur rail station. He changed his track two years ago. Now he collects waste like scattered paper, broken pens, plastic stuff and different categories of vehicle parts. He sells these things at Nowabpur market. His regular income ranges from Taka 50 to 70.

Those three characters described are representative of the street people. There are thousands of characters like those in Dhaka city. You can find them in front of every market, commercial areas, in the bus terminals, around hotels, parks, on the pavements, around two main stadiums, all over old Dhaka and even on all VIP roads. They try to earn a living by doing various types of activities example, collecting rickshaws, serving tea, carrying goods in the terminals, selling various types of food and even water. Usually those street people go out with their torn and patched bags for the day’s collecting from garbage bins and those whom are beggars, go to those areas where they will get some kind of alms. Street people normally buy their meal from roadside food shops and eat sitting on bricks.

In Bangladesh Street people can be defined in two groups:

• Those who spend all the time in the streets as it is their home, where they eat, sleep, make friends and carry on other activities.
• Those who spend the day on the streets and at night they return home, even it be a mere shack in the slum.

In Bangladesh street people is increasing day by day mainly cause of migration to the urban streets, family breakdown, poverty and family size. People who are rootless or have been uprooted by flood, crop failure, river erosion etc. migrate to big cities. Most of the time, they don’t get any job so they beg on streets in order to make a living. In Bangladesh, about five hundred thousand people are engaged in begging. Street people don’t have any fundamental right like food, safe water, shelter, sanitation, health care and schooling.

Difficulties and dangers faced by children of the street

What do you think are the ten most serious problems?
Click on ten issues

Being hungry and not having enough to eat
Being tortured by police
Not having a bed to sleep on
Not enjoying the work they do on the streets
Feeling lonely; not having any friends
Not being able to get a job
Nowhere to go for protection from the rain
Feeling frightened and hopeless about the future
Not being able to learn to read, write and do maths
Being abused and robbed of their money by adults
Not having clean water to drink
Adults insulting them or physically hurting them
Not being able to get medicines when ill
Girls not being able to marry
Not having clean clothes to wear
Having very little money and earning very little from their work
Not having the power to protest against bad treatment by adults

ARSENIC POLLUTION IN BANGLADESH

Arsenic poisoning has emerged as a fresh blow to Bangladesh, a country of 130 million population, known as a land of frequent natural calamities. Recent surveys showed that about 80 million people of the country are living under the risk of Arsenic poisoning as the groundwater of a vast region contaminated with Arsenic the Arsenic pollution is not only causing serious health hazard to the people, but also affecting the environment and creating social problems.

Arsenic poisoning was first detected in Bangladesh in 1993 by the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE). But the fact remained behind the screen till 1996. According to the latest surveys conducted at both Government levels, at least 53 out of the total 64 districts of Bangladesh are affected with Arsenic pollution.

More than 2 million Tube-wells are presently being used as the source of drinking water in Bangladesh. Out of those, only 50,000 have so far been brought under investigation by various Government and non-Government agencies. The rest are still beyond the survey. The actual picture of the severity of Arsenic pollution is yet to be revealed as the entire country could not be surveyed till now.

The Arsenic poisoning has mainly been detected through testing samples of tube-well water and human tissues-hair, nail, skin and urine. Regular intake of Arsenic at higher level through food and drinking water causes various diseases, especially skin diseases. Arsenic causes both physical and intellectual damage to the human beings.

Since the very beginning, Dhaka Community Hospital (DCH) has been playing the leading role in school of Environmental Studies (SOES) of Jadavpur University, Calcutta is actively collaborating with the DCH in the survey and research works in this field. On the part of Government, National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine (NIPSOM), an organization engaged in health related activities, and the Department of Public health Engineering (DPHE) has taken the key role to identify the Arsenic patients and determine the extent and severity of the problem. In 1994, a national committee was formed to deal with Arsenic problem. Country's leading experts and the representatives of Environment Department, water Development Board, universities, WHO and UNICEF. In 1996 the Government abolished the national committee and formed three new committees. These are the national steering committee headed by Health Minister, Arsenic Technical Commute and Scientific Research Committee. But the Progress of Government activities to check Arsenic pollution is not satisfactory. Millions of people are facing the danger of Arsenic pollution and a large number of them are still in darkness about the problem.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has fixed a recommended value at 0.01 milligram Arsenic for per liter of water. It also set a maximum permissible limit of 0.05 mg/l. Under the survey, conducted by the DCH and SOES, tube-well water of suspected areas of Bangladesh were tested in laboratory. It is matter of great concern that in many cases the Arsenic concentration in the Groundwater crosses the WHO recommended value and maximum permissible limit.

The West Bengal State of India, which surrounds Bangladesh's west and north border, is also an Arsenic-affected zone because of the geological similarity. But the situation in Bangladesh is more alarming compared to West Bengal, according to experts. In West Bengal, SOES tested water samples of 40000 tube-wells in the affected area and found 58 tube -wells containing above 1.0-milligram Arsenic in per liter of water. On the other hand, some 6101 tube-wells were examined in the affected areas of Bangladesh by DCH-SOES and 75 tube-wells were found with such a high level of Arsenic concentration. Luxmipur, Nawabganj and Faridpur districts were identified as the most affected areas of the country where a large number of people have already been affected with various diseases caused by Arsenic poisoning.

The Arsenic pollution has been creating serious social problems for the affected people. They virtually become isolated from the society as nobody want to keep any social contact with them. Nobody wants to marry any Arsenic affected made of female. Some affected housewives were even divorced by their husbands. Affected school children become victims of avoidance by their teachers and classmates and are not allowed to attend their classes. Due to ignorance, the villagers consider Arsenical diseases as the curse of nature. They do not allow the Arsenic patients at social functions. The Arsenic affected villages also become isolated zone.

After conducting extensive surveys and research in the affected areas. Experts suggested for undertaking motive awareness building program on Arsenic pollution, reducing use of groundwater for drinking purpose and increasing the use of safe surface water to avert diseases caused by Arsenic poisoning. They identified indiscriminate withdrawal of groundwater as of the major causes of Arsenic pollution and suggested for finding out alternative source of safe drinking water. Regular testing of tube-well water at intervals and examination of suspected patients at the affected areas are also included in their suggestions. A government-NGO concerted effort is essential to combat the problem, they observe, Moreover, Bangladesh has not enough resources to implement such a huge task. The country does not have any modern laboratory capable to test water and examine the samples collected from Arsenic patients. Without continues assistance from the donor community and international organizations, it is impossible for the country to resolve the problem alone.

Arsenic pollution is now considered as a great threat to the future generation of the country. Bangladesh has emerged as the most vulnerable palace with regards to Arsenic pollution as the extent and spread of the problem have taken a serious turn. We have already become the victims of Arsenic poisoning and are pushing our next generation in to a more dangerous situation. So, this is the high time to be aware of the problem and take steps to combat the Spread of Arsenic pollution. Otherwise, nothing could stop this silent killer.

For the past two decades the water from over a million tube-wells has been slowly poisoning Bangladeshi villagers with naturally occurring arsenic. Over 18 millions people are drinking this poisoned water daily.

Arsenic is naturally occurring in pyrite bedrock underlying much of West Bengal. The poisoning began to occur as millions of kiloliters of water was being pumped out from deep within underground reservoirs. As a result the water level dropped and exposed the arsenic-bearing pyrite to air leading to oxidisation, a reaction which flushed arsenic into the remaining water.

Arsenic is a slow killer that accumulates in the body resulting in nails rotting, dark spots, bleeding sores, swelling, large warts and a form of gangrene. It is carcinogen increasing the risk of skin cancer and tumors of the bladder, kidney, liver and lungs.

Villagers in Jampukkur, first noticed something was wrong in the 1970’s when dark spots spread across their bodies. They finally learned they were drinking arsenic contaminated water in 1993 when official tests showed 95% of the village wells were contaminated.

As a result of widespread water contamination domestic abuse has become just one of the social costs. There are now many reports of broken marriage, as husbands send disfigured wives back to their parents. In Jampukkur, many young men and women don’t get married at all. Some people think the poison can be passed on from parent to child so many arsenic poisoned women have problems finding husbands.

Flooding in Bangladesh

Severe flooding in Bangladesh, which has already killed nearly 400 people and caused hundreds of millions of dollars worth of damage, is set to get worse. Officials say high tides are affecting rivers in the centre of the country, and flood waters which are already waist-deep in places will continue to rise. Many deaths have been blamed on outbreaks of disease. The Bangladeshi Foreign Minister, Abdus Samad Azad, has appealed for international aid for millions of people left homeless or destitute. He said about two-thirds of the country were affected.

Physical (Natural) causes of flooding in Bangladesh

1. Bangladesh is a very low lying country, with 70% of its land area being less than 1m above sea level and 80% of it being floodplain.
2. Bangladesh receives large amounts of water passing through it with two major rivers (the Ganges and Brahmaputra) converging and forming a huge delta (see picture) formed from silt deposited by the river as it enters the sea. Both rivers have large volumes of water flowing through them to the sea as they have large drainage basins which increasing the flood risk;
3. Bangladesh has a monsoon climate and the annual torrential rains which result often result in the rivers exceeding their capacity and flooding;
4. In the spring, melting snow from the Himalayas further increases the flood risks as torrents of melt water enter the rivers at their source.
   

Human causes of flooding in Bangladesh

1. Increasing population pressure in the foothills of the Himalayas where the rain contributes to the source of the River Ganges and Brahmaputra has resulted in intense deforestation. It is believed that this reduction in interception has resulted in more water entering the rivers - indeed with 92% of the area drained by the rivers being in countries other than Bangladesh, Bangladesh's proneness to flooding is exacerbated by population and environmental issues in countries other than its own, making it increasingly difficult to target the problems.
2. Indeed deforestation in the headwaters is also believed to be responsible for the increased soil erosion which has led to large amount of silt being washed into the rivers and subsequently being deposited on the river bed, reducing its channel capacity and increasing the likelihood of flooding.
   
3. Increasing population pressure in Bangladesh itself has resulted in the sinking of many new wells resulting in the lowering of the water table and the subsequent subsidence of land making it even more prone to flooding;
4. Bangladesh is an LEDC and its lack of money and heavy national debt means that little money is available to spend on flood protection methods / defences and many existing defences lack upkeep and are of questionable use.
   

(click on the digram below for a summary of these)

EFFECTS OF FLOODING IN BANGLADESH Remember - you must learn place specific detail when writing answers to case study questions if you are to be awarded the full marks. POSITIVE EFFECTS OF FLOODING It is important to remember that whilst flooding has serious impacts on human life in Bangladesh it is also instrumental in the wellbeing of Bangladesh's economy and the survival of its people. So what are these positive effects of flooding?

1. As well as providing water for crops, when flooding occurs, as there is friction between the water and the surface of the land, the water slows down and loses its energy. This loss of energy results in the deposition of rich fertile soil resulting in the providing important nutrients enabling people to grow crops;
2. This deposition of silt also creates land upon which people can live - for example the Ganges delta has been formed in this way as deposition has occured where the river has entered the Bay of Bengal.

EFFECTS OF THE 2008 FLOODS:

1. Over two thirds of the land area was covered by water and the capital, Dhaka, was 2m underwater.
2. 30 million people were made homeless in the floods with many losing all their belongings.
   
3. 1,070 people died - this death toll resulted from a number of things. As well as people being killed by drowning in the flood waters, health problems increased the number of deaths further. Contamination of water by waste and dead bodies / animals, and the lack of a clean water supply resulted in the spread of disease such as cholera and typhoid. Further deaths from snake bites and other injuries which led to death through the lack of access to medical care.
4. Food supplies were severely affected as flooding destroyed the rice stocks with a total of 668,529ha of crops being destroyed;
5. The impact on the economy was signifcant with Bangadesh's export industries seeing a 20% decrease in production with over 400 clothing factories forced to close.
   
6. Communications became difficult, with shopping impossible in the main port, as well as roads and railways having been swept away making the distribution of aid and the rescue operation very difficult;

and all though very detailed this report provides an over view of the Disaster Impacts, Household coping and response. This chapter from the report provides specific detail on the impacts of the flood on agricultural production, employment and wealth.
FLOOD RELIEF / MANAGEMENT IN BANGLADESH As has already been mentioned Bangladesh's low level of economic development means Bangladesh's flood protection is insufficent and a number of factors as discussed in this post have exacerbated the problems. Following the 2008 floods a number of short term flood relief measures were put in place to try an minimise loss of life - these included:

• international food aid programmes
• the distribution of free seed to farmers by the Bangladesh govenrment to try and reduce the impact of food shortages - the government also gave 350,000 tonnes of cereal to feed people;
• volunteers / aid workers worked to try and repair flood damage (see OCR A textbook - p.39 for further details)

In the long term a number of flood prevention measure are possible:

• the creation of embankments (artificial levees) along the river to increase channel capacity and restrict flood waters - however since 1957, 7,500km of flood embankments have been constructed and yet many were breached in the 2008 floods;
• constructing flood protection shelters (large buildings raised above the ground) to shelter both people and animals
• emergency flood warning systems and plans made for organising rescue and relief services;
• providing emergency medical stores in villages
• building flood proof storage sheds for grain and other food supplies
• dam construction upstream and major embankments around Dhaka have been suggested however lack of money has meant that these suggestions have not been taken further.

Environment, Sanitation and Water in Bangladesh

“Half the slum is knee-deep in water during high monsoons. There is no electricity, no water supply. And the worst is that we do not have toilets,” said Tara Mia, a vegetable hawker who lives with his wife and three children in a Dhaka slum.

Around 70 percent of the population of Bangladesh live in rural areas and do not have adequate access to sanitation. Improving rural sanitation is a complicated challenge, which involves action on several fronts. Individuals need to be aware of how their behavior may damage the environment and what they need to do to protect their own and public health. This requires education aimed at young people as well as information campaigns targeted at all age groups.

Bangladesh Government is trying to achieve 100 percent sanitation coverage through regular supply of hardware and proper maintenance, with a sustained campaign on hygienic hand-washing habits by 2011.

Traffic Pollution in Bangladesh & Metropolitan Dhaka a Preliminary Investigation

SUMMARY

Limited resources, invested for the development of transport facilities, such as infrastructure and vehicles, coupled with the rapid rise in
transport demand, existence of a huge number of non-motorized vehicles on roads, lack of application of adequate and proper traffic management schemes are producing severe transport problems in almost all the urban areas of Bangladesh. Worsening situation of traffic congestion in the streets and sufferings of the inhabitants from vehicle emissions demand extensive research in this field. However, no detailed study concerning traffic congestion and pollution problems for urban areas of Bangladesh has yet been done. However, a number of news reporting nowadays regarding traffic pollution scenarios enhance me to write something on this issue. As I have been done some background study on traffic pollution problem of Bangladesh.

This article is focusing current situation of traffic pollution problem in Dhaka city based on a preliminary investigation. The daily total emissions of NOx, HC, CO, PM, and SOx are estimated and burdened to city's air and equivalent to: 42, 39, 314, 14, and 42 tons/day, respectively. Daily average concentration of NOx (NO2, NO) were measured at 28 street locations in Dhaka city during November, 1996. The results showed extremely high concentrations of NO2 and NO in each location.

BACKGROUND

Motor vehicles contribute significantly to emission inventories in certain regions specially on urban areas. The pollutant species most
often of concern with respect to transportation facilities are carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC), photochemical oxidants e.g., ozone (O3), nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matter (PM), and lead (Pb). In spite of great improvements in most developed countries due to reduced use of leaded fuels, highway emissions of lead remain a persistent air quality problem. Recent studies indicate that motor
vehicles are also a major or primary source of other toxic air pollutants including 1.3-butadiene, benzene and a number of carcinogens,
associated with particulate matter. As the vehicle fleet continues to grow, motor vehicle emissions and the products of their transformation in the atmosphere, random acceleration-deceleration due to non-motorized vehicles in developing countries, are becoming increasingly important contributors to nearly every major air pollution problem facing the world today. In urban areas, where more than 70% of the population live, levels of motor-vehicle related pollutants frequently exceed internationally agreed air quality guidelines.

In developed countries, governments have fought for clean air by regulating all major and many minor sources of air pollution. Industrial emissions have been significantly reduced. As a result of new motor vehicle emission standards introduced in 1988, new vehicles in developed nations are 90% cleaner than those manufactured in the 1970s. However, despite those substantial efforts, we continue to be plagued with air pollution problems. Major issues are the two stroke engines moving in Dhaka's street, heterogeneous flows of traffic and our continued and growing reliance on the private car. It is not out of subject to mention here that the two-stroke engines (Baby taxis) moving in Dhaka city are simple modified form of an Italian model of 1960's. It is estimated that a baby-taxi emit 30 times more pollution than a normal car. In providing a very simple logic, we can replace a baby taxi by 30 cars in Dhaka, considering the environmental point of view. Though baby-taxi size is a suitable mode for Dhaka's street geometry.

In Bangladesh, pollution severity occur due to the high content of lead in gasoline, large number of high polluting vehicles, impure fuel, inefficient landuse, and overall poor traffic management. The pollutants of concern for Bangladesh are leaded fuel, particulate matter, dust, oxides of nitrogen, and sulfur dioxide.

Dhaka has the highest lead pollution in the world for a part of the year, 1996, scientists at the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) observed (http://www.bangla.net/). A 17-month survey study by BAEC scientists detected 463 nanogram of lead in 1 cubic meter of air over Dhaka, during the dry months (November'5-January'6). In Bangladesh, all vehicles use leaded fuel because the country's only refinery is not able to produce lead-free fuel. The higher share of SOx emissions from automobiles, in Bangladesh is due to the poor fuel quality and the extensive use of diesel-powered in some cases impure diesel vehicles.

AIR POLLUTION IN BANGLADESH

Emission inventories of NOx and SOx have usually been made on national basis mainly for general administrative purposes and public information, systematic data published for the use of the scientific data is rather scarce. Nationwide SOx and NOx were calculated based on sulfur content and statistics of fuel consumption estimates of emission factors specific to individual source categories over time. Developing countries like Bangladesh is characterized by a rapid increase of energy consumption accompanied by a rapid growth of population and economic activities. Thus the increasing contribution of atmospheric loads of SO2 and NOx to global climate change is anticipated and it is really necessary to quantify these emissions in a hurried manner. A national steering committee should established with local and expatriate Bangladeshi experts to deal with the problem. The author have contacts with some academician in BUET who wish to do a joint research, a comprehensive study for urban pollution problem in Bangladesh.

AIR POLLUTION IN DHAKA

Dhaka, is the capital city of Bangladesh, has grown into a busy city of about 6.5 million people with an area of 815 km2. Dhaka city has
heterogeneous traffic flows, as of 1996 an estimated total of 168,718 automobiles are on road. A substantial part of total traffic is non-motorized vehicles enhance severe congestion and pollution problem specially in road intersections. Around 80% of total trips in Dhaka city is comprised of non-motorized transport (NMT) and only 5.9% trips are made by motorized transport (MT). Average trip length of MT is 27 minutes. Trips made by public transport specially buses are very low, only 0.9%. The maximum trips of vehicle modes are made by using rickshaw is 43%. Though it is very difficult to quantify pollution contribution from such heterogeneous traffic combinations, the influence of non-motorized transport on pollution are averaged upon the pollution considering the average speed of traffic flows. Based on data from different sources and road surveys conducted by the author the traffic pollution contribution in Dhaka city has been assessed and presented in the following sections.

TRENDS IN NATIONAL EMISSIONS

The primary objective of this section is to provide current estimates of nationwide emission for two major transportation pollutants: SOx
and NOx. Estimates are presented for 1981 to 1991 to give trends for national air pollutant emissions. An average of about 15% energy
consumed in transport sector in national level. A maximum of 18% transport energy consumption occur in 1990. An average of 34% NOx emission exhausted from transportation system to total emissions. On the other hand, the contribution from transportation SOx emission averaged 47%. Such high share of SOx emissions from automobiles is due to the high content of sulfur in petroleum products and extensive use of diesel fuel.

EMISSIONS IN DHAKA METROPOLITAN

The average daily traffic emissions of NOx, HC, CO, PM, and SOx are presented for Dhaka city. They are estimated based on the emission factors and total daily fuel consumption from 1981 to 1996. Data for fuel consumption available till 1992, on the other hand total daily trips are available till 1996, an average growth rate equals to that of daily trips are taken to estimate current trends in fuel consumption. The average daily trips of all modes of transport, average trip duration, mean running speed, and emission factors of kilometerage travel are also accounted for in estimating daily emission. Emission factors for kilometerage travel are always considered for 5 to 6 years old model vehicles. Because most of the vehicles imported in Bangladesh are reconditioned automobiles. Bangladesh only allow to import maximum 5 years old vehicles. As for example, in estimating emission in 1988, we used emission factors for 1981 vehicles. There is a fall in trends of fuel consumption in 1989, as a result sharp fall in emissions observed. In 1987 and 1988 there are severe floods affected about two-thirds of the total area inflicting severe damages. Capital stock losses were well over US $100 billion which seriously affected the national growth as well as the economy.

Emissions of nitrogen oxides are produced largely by transportation sources. Emissions of NOx have steadily increased over the period from 1989 to 1996 as the result of increased fuel combustion. From 1981 to 1988, the size of the change in emissions fluctuated. Transportation sources are the largest emitters of carbon monoxide. Major increase in emissions occur in pre-1989 period was in 1986, about 91 thousand tons of CO emitted from transportation systems as the result of increased motor vehicle travel.

AMBIENT NO2 CONCENTRATION IN DHAKA

Interest in ambient NOx concentration has increased due to health effects of this pollutant and its important role in the formation of photochemical oxidants; NO2 is also a precursor to species such as nitric acid and nitrate aerosols which contribute to acidification of the environment. In November of 1996, a field study conducted by the author to measure ambient NOx (NO, NO2) concentration in 28 street locations in Dhaka city. Two zones are divided to identify the severance of the problem of NOx. The high concentration locations (black spots), zone I and less polluted areas, zone II. Zone I is identified as the locations where NO2 concentration exceeded 40 ppb, and consequently zone II is those locations less than this level. Among 28 street locations 16 of them identified as the black spots, where NO2 concentration observed more than 40 ppb. Maximum concentration observed 64 ppb at Malibag area, followed by Bijoynagar 63 ppb, and then Shapla Chattar 57 ppb. The hourly average traffic flow from Mogbazar to Malibag link is 2613 veh/h with an average speed 22 km/h, Paltan to Bijoynagar link 2920 with an average speed 22.85 km/h, and Bijoynagar to Kakrail link 2711 veh/h and mean
vehicle speed 24.62 km/h.

CONCLUSIONS

Bangladesh has yet to be implemented a National Air Quality Standard, there are no detail air quality regulations based on which
Environmental Impact Assessment could be done. Very few works have been done on air quality measurements and national air pollutants estimates in Bangladesh. Author is willing to extend his assistance in doing any projects related to road traffic pollution in Bangladesh. Few recommendations are:

• A national steering committee constituting experts is urgently established to cope with the problem.
• Formulate guidelines for policy makers, city planners, traffic engineering practitioners towards mitigating traffic pollution problems and make recommendations for setting National Air Quality Standard.
• Auto-rickshaw (AR) should be restricted in Dhaka city. Consequently, an equivalent and efficient alternative mode of transport should initiate in Dhaka, so that, those who are importing AR, driving AR can do the same for the new mode of transport. Current initiative of taxi-cab is appreciating, however, the pre-conditions, NEW and 2000CC car seem to be policy makers ignorance in understanding modal choice in Dhaka. A pre-condition is really necessary that is "not the diesel car". As we are plagued with severe air pollution problem in Dhaka. What we need is to find an alternative equivalent of AR, that is environmentally friendly and is able to provide door-to-door service.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The author wish to confer his thanks to late Mr. Nowshad Bin Asheque and Mr. Rayhanul Islam for their cooperation in collecting
data from Bangladesh.

Condition of the rivers pollution in Bangladesh

Buriganga River

DHAKA - It was once the lifeline of the Bangladeshi capital.But the once mighty Buriganga river, which flows by Dhaka, buriganga river, one of the major rivers near Dhakais . one of the most polluted rivers in Bangladesh because of rampant dumping of industrial and human waste.the pollutants have eaten up all oxygen in the Buriganga and we call it biologically dead. It is like a septic tank. There is no fish or aquatic life in this river apart from zero oxygen survival kind of organisms. Major pollutants are listed as dumping of passengers and industrial wastes. Encroachment, which prevents free flow of water, is also listed among causes of the plight.Experts warn that many rivers of the country either dry up or get biologically dead due to grave pollution and encroachment. The country has around 230 rivers and a clear majority of the 140 million people depend on rivers for safe water, transportation and fishing.

"Much of the Buriganga is now gone, having fallen to ever insatiable land grabbers and industries dumping untreated effluents into the river," said Ainun Nishat, a leading environmental expert.

All industrial, municipal (700-1100 tonnes daily) and urban wastes of Dhaka city ( population 1989 about 6.5 million and expected to grow in year 2000 to 11.1 million) are flushed into the Buriganga River. It is estimated that total organic waste load discharged into the river will be around 250 metric tonnes per day (Reazuddin, 1994). The following description of Hazaribagh leather industry explains the present status of industrial pollution in Bangladesh:

Fishing in the Buriganga river

Filthy water mixed with blood of sacrificial animals drains into the River Buriganga,
polluting the river water. The picture was taken in the Mitford
Hospital area on Saturday.

"The water of the Buriganga is now so polluted that all fish have died, and increasing filth and human waste have turned it like a black gel. Even rowing across the river is now difficult for it smells so badly," he told reporters.The plight of the Buriganga symbolises the general state of many rivers in Bangladesh, a large flat land criss-crossed by hundreds of rivers which faces an uphill battle to keep them navigable and their waters safe for human and aquatic lives.Bangladesh has about 230 small and large rivers, and a large chunk of the country's 140 million people depend on them for a living and for transportation.But experts say many of them are drying up or are choked because of pollution and encroachment.

Severe pollution has reduced the river Buriganga into a 'dumping drain' of toxic refuse, threatening millions of people living on its banks with serious health hazards and a loss of their livelihoods. That the river is dying is clearly evident from its stench. The highly toxic waters release a 'gas' that starts irritating the nostrils and throat as soon as humans breathe it. Its foul odors can be smelled from as far away as half a kilometre. "Sometimes we are unable to sit in our office due to the unbearable stench from the river water," said an official at the Sadarghat river port. As the day rolls into the afternoon the heat of the sun turns the stench even fouler, making the 'pitch black' Buriganga water intolerable, he said. Soon after the floodwater receded and the river wore its lean period look, the pollution instantly increased due to a lack of dispersion. Millions of cubic metres of toxic waste from the Hazaribagh tanneries and thousands of other industries, topped with a huge volume of untreated sewage from the city, now remain almost stagnant within the river water. The situation is set to continue until a new flow of water rushes in from the upstream, beginning in perhaps another two months. In the meantime, people living along the river are the worst victims of the pollution, which they say is worse than anything they've seen in previous years. Thousands of water transport workers, working on the passenger and cargo vessels in Sadraghat, are forced to bring water from the river Meghna and Dhaleswari for washing. Unable to take a bath or wash clothes for days, many of them have even begun to suffer from various diseases. "We can not use the water of the Buriganga for bathing, washing or cooking," said Mohammad Uzzal, an employee of a launch. "For cooking, we use the water collected from faraway places in our water tank," said Mohammad Jalil, a launch cook. Farid, a ticket collector of MV Mashiron Khan-1, said that even for washing the floor of the vessels they have to bring water from relatively less polluted rivers such as the Meghna near Chandpur.

"Sometimes, when we require more water while anchored at the terminal, we are forced to buy tap water at a high price," said a launch operator. "If we wash the vessel with this water passengers complain of a bad smell," he said. At least two private companies supply 'pure water' to the launches in the Sadarghat, charging about Tk 150 for filling a 400-liter capacity water reservoir.

he scenario is even bleaker in the villages along the river, in the upstream of the Buriganga. Hundreds of thousands of families living in Zinzira, Kholamora, Kamrangirchar, Jhaochar, Modhyerchar, Wasspur, Basila and Looterchar face a severe water crisis for at least six months a year. Dependent on the river for generations, this population has been cut off from using the river water for over ten years. Although almost every household has a tube-well, ninety percent of them become dry during the lean period. Housewives are even forced to travel miles for washing and collecting water. "There are people, particularly migrant day labourers, who are badly suffering as they are unable to wash their clothes or take a bath for days," said Lakhan, a former fisherman from Basila.

Pollution in the river has also rendered totally barren hundreds of acres agricultural land and also destroyed the river water's ecosystem. Once famous for its variety of local fishes, the Buriganga now has virtually no aquatic life. There are at least 200 sources from which polluted water pours into the river Buriganga, chief among them sewage waste from the tanneries at Rayer Bazar. The government now has a plan to relocate the Hazaribagh tanneries to Savar with effluent treatment plants. A top BIWTA official said that all the feeder rivers in the upstream, such as the Jamuna and the Brahmaputra, remain cut off during most of the year due to siltation in confluent areas. "The river Buriganga becomes almost stagnant as the water flow from upstream is almost totally cut off in the lean period.

A World Bank study said four major rivers near Dhaka - the Buriganga, Shitalakhya,Turag and Balu - receive 1.5 million cubic metres of waste water every day from 7,000 industrial units in surrounding areas and another 0.5 million cubic metres from other sources.

Unabated encroachment that prevents the free flow of water, dumping of medicinal waste and waste of river passengers have compounded the problem, making the water unusable for humans and livestock.

"Unfortunately, all these bad things - encroachment, dumping of industrial waste and other abuses - occur in full knowledge of the authorities," said Professor Abdullah Abu Saeed, an eminent campaigner for "Save Buriganga, Save Lives".

Among the top polluters are dozens of tanneries on the banks of the Buriganga. The government has initiated a move to relocate the tanneries outside the capital, and also asked illegal encroachers to vacate the river.

A boy collects rubbish on the river Buriganga in Dhaka May 17, 2010. It was once the lifeline of the Bangladeshi capital. But the once mighty Buriganga river, which flows by Dhaka, is now one of the most polluted rivers in Bangladesh because of rampant dumping of industrial and human waste.

But environmental groups say they defy such orders by using their political links or by bribing people.

Sitalakhya River

Besides wastes from Dhaka urban population the river receives untreated industrial wastes from urea fertiliser plants, textile mills and other industries. The principal polluting agent in the region is the Urea Fertiliser Factory of Ghorasal and the concentration of ammonia dissolved in water has increased over time causing fish-kills.

Balu River

The river near Tongi (15 miles north of Dhaka) receives untreated effluents from industries such as textiles, lead batteries, pulp and paper, pharmaceuticals, paints, detergents, iron and steel, rubber etc.

As new industries and an entire new city sprout along its banks, the river Balu on the eastern fringe of the city is slowly dying, strangled by land encroachment and poisoned by industrial pollution, creating a serious health hazard for several lakh people living in the area. Local people say the stench in the river Balu is so strong during the lean period that they find it difficult to breathe. "We can not even think of touching the water during the lean season, which lasts for over four months. The water is so polluted and bad smelling that it turns the skin white," said Nuru Mian of Boro Beraid village on the western bank of the river.

The river is also slowly shrinking, making navigation increasingly difficult, since many areas along its banks have been filled in to support a host of new buildings, including brick kilns, shops, cinema halls, pucca houses and ghats. Many examples of such destructive building activities were clearly visible at several points during a visit to the river on Saturday. A mosque was built on the eastern side of the river at Eshapur, 75 per cent of it on the river. Its first floor was erected on a number of pillars directly on the river. Elsewhere, the river is being strangled in order to give birth to an entire new city Purbachal, which the Rajdhani Unnayan Katripakkha RAJUK is building on 6,000 acres of land covering Dhaka Narayanganj and Gazipur districts. Hundreds of barges can be seen carrying sand from the River Meghna and Munshiganj areas to fill in low lands.

As a consequence of the gradual encroachment, the river, which originates from the Lakkhah and the old Brahmmaputra in Mymensingh and flows to Shitalakhya, has become so narrow that goods-carrying vessels often get stuck on the riverbed. During winter, it virtually shrinks to a small canal. Lakhs of people living on the banks of the 21-kilometer long river are also facing a serious water crisis since they can no longer use the river water for daily tasks, such as bathing and washing clothes. Even ten years ago, the river water was clean and usable for various household purposes. Fishermen netted big fish on the river all year round, the villager Mian said. But now hardly any fish can survive in the polluted water, he recalled.

"We cannot even wash our legs in the river because it causes itching," said Mahbubul Alam of the same village. He said cultivation of vegetables on the land along the river is also being affected because of pollution in the water. Sources say the river is being poisoned because sewage water from Dhaka city flows into it via the Rampura Khal, spreading throughout the whole area through arteries and various canals. A high ranking engineer from Dhaka WASA admitted responsibility for polluting the river Balu and several hundred villages along it.

But he added that unscrupulous home and industry owners on an area of about 35 square kilometers cause the pollution. They have illegally connected their sewerage lines with the storm sewerage, which discharges huge volumes of night soil and industrial wastes into the river through the Rampura sluice gate, he alleged. He said, however, that WASA plans to set up a sewage and waste treatment plant on the eastern fringe of the city, but that the plan has remained shelved for years due to funding constraints. "We have proposed to the World Bank and also appealed for funds but no investor is coming forward. The river pollution will not go until such treatment plants are in place," said the official, requesting anonymity.

Making matters worse, the villagers have become totally dependent on local tube wells since the river water is highly contaminated. But these only supply a very little amount of water during the lean season. On average, 60 out of 100 tube wells in the area remain non-functional during this time, the villagers said. Poor villagers and day labourers who can not manage a tube well face severe hardship in obtaining water. But even those who have a tube well face difficulties, as the hand operated tube wells require a lot of pressure to obtain an adequate supply.

Mohammad Quamrul Islam, a local member of parliament and state minister for expatriate welfare and overseas employment, told The Daily Star that he has taken initiatives several times to reduce the pollution level in the river Balu. A big waste treatment plant is necessary to stop pollution in the river but no such plant is being set up due to lack of investors for the project, he told

Bhairab/Rupsa Rivers

The principal industries of Khulna (south-east of Bangladesh) are jute mills, oil mills, newsprint mills, cable, shipyards, tobacco, match factories, hardboard and others dispose molasses, starch, oil, sodium-sulphide, ethane, lissapol, sodaash, dye, sulphuric acid, salicylic acid, lime, ammonium sulphide, and chrome etc. Afew study at Bhairab River shows a very alarming water quality data (Nov.-April 1988-89) - conductivity 390-9500 Micro-mhos/cms, total solid 260-3500 mg/l, TDS 260-3200 mg/l. The pollution aspects of Bhairab and Rupsa Rivers is very critical - the Rupsa River does not receive a continuous flow of fresh water from the parent river, on the other hand, the Bhairab River, being subject to tides, has marked backwater effects which reduce the purification capacity of the river.

Karnaphuli River

The polluting industries of Chittagong (south-east of Bangladesh) such as 19 tanneries, 26 textile mills, 1 oil refinery, 1 TSP plant, 1 DDT plant, 2 chemical complexes, 5 fish processing units, 1 urea fertiliser factory, 1 asphalt bitumen plant, 1 steel mill, 1 paper mill (solid waste disposal hourly 1450 m³), 1 rayon mill complex, 2 cement factories, 2 pesticide manufacturing plants, 4 paint and dye manufacturing plants, several soap and detergent factories and a number of light industrial units directly discharge untreated toxic effluent into Karnaphuli river. From the survey of effluents from different industries , it has been found that the discharge is generally compose of organic and inorganic wastes. The organic waster are the effluents from the tanneries, fish processing units, degradable wood chips, pulps and untreated municipal and sewage (about 40,000 kg BOD daily) etc. The inorganic waster are chemicals used by the industries such as various acids, bleaching powder, lissapol, hydrogenperoxide, alkali, salts, lime, dyes, pigments, aluminium-sulphate and heavy metals etc. The DDT factory and fertiliser factory disposing of DDT, toxic chemicals and heavy metals to the Karnaphuli River and ultimately to the Bay of Bengal ( Table: 2 and 3). The tables show about 220 ppm of chromium, 0.3-2.9 of cadmium, 0.05-0.27 ppm of mercury, 0.5-21.8 ppm of lead entering river and sea water much higher than allowable limits. and extremely alarmingly to aquatic flora and fauna and through food chains to human beings. It may be mentioned that Bangladesh obtain table salt from solar drying of sea water and consequently increase pollution of sea water shall create a serious national health hazard situation.

About 20,000 fishermen became jobless at Rangonia, Boalkhali and Anwara Upazila due to water pollution (Dept. of Environment, 1988). The estimate of crude oil spillage at Chittagong is about 6,000 metric tonnes per year, while about 240,000 gallons per year of bilge water is also dumped (Ministry of Environment, 1992). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons known to be carcinogenic enter the river water and also the Bay of Bengal. But no specific study or quantitative analysis of the run-off, discharge amount or residue level has so far been analysed.

"SEPTIC TANK"

Environmentalists say the Buriganga, or the "Old Ganges" once famous for a spectacular cruise, is worst affected.

The river flows by the capital Dhaka, a city of 12 million people, which largely depends on the Buriganga's water for drinking, fishing and carrying merchandise.

"The pollutants have eaten up all oxygen in the Buriganga and we call it biologically dead. It is like a septic tank," said Khawaja Minnatullah, a World Bank specialist on environment and water management.

"There is no fish or aquatic life in this river apart from zero oxygen survival kind of organisms."

Chemicals such as cadmium and chromium, and other elements such as mercury carried by the industrial waste are also creeping into the ground water, posing a serious threat to public health.

"If the pollution is not controlled, we will face a serious health crisis in a year or two or at best three years," said Minnatullah.

Bangladesh enacted a law in 1995 making it compulsory for all industrial units to use effluent treatment plants in a bid to save river water from pollution, but industry owners often flout the rule.

"Many of them have this plant. But they don't use it as it is expensive," said M.A. Matin, general-secretary of Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon or the Bangladesh Environment Movement.

"We want the rivers fully dredged, their illegal occupation ended and the laws strictly enforced to prevent abuse of waterways," said Nishat.

Environmentalists say they are hopeful.

The government over the years has allowed industrialists to pollute the rivers, canals and wetlands in and around the city to such an extent that surface water turned pitch black in several spots. Pollution has set in on the Buriganga, Shitalakhya and Balu rivers and made it almost impossible to treat the water. The water and Sewerage Authority (wasa), is supplying stinky water by purifying it with cholorine ammonia sulfate. But most of the industrialists have defeid the directive and the government also did not take action against any of the violators. Even the department of environment (DoE) does not know much about it. Besides industry generated liquid and solid waste, most of the human excreta directly goes down the rivers through underground pipelines as nearly 70 percent houses are not connected to the excrete treatment plant. Waste from these industries is connected with the sewerage system that directly goes into tha rivers around the city. In fact, the rivers have become a dumping ground of all kinds of solid, liquid, and chemical waste of bank side population.

Bangladesh gets loans for water, pollution projects

Bangladesh will receive a $149 million loan from the World Bank for a project to improve water supply and another loan for a project to fight air pollution.The total cost of the water supply project is estimated at $165.7 million and the government will cover the rest of the cost, the World Bank said in a statement on Monday.It will install storm water pumping stations and rehabilitate canals to drain out waste water and minimise urban flooding.The project will also carry out rehabilitation, repair and expansion of priority investments in Dhaka's sewerage network and treatment plant to improve the environment in urban areas, especially in the slums.The proposed project has been developed in coordination with five development partners -- the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, the Danish International Development Assistance, the government of Japan, and the government of the Republic of Korea.The World Bank's concessionary arm, International Development Association (IDA) will provide the loan with 40 years to maturity, including a 10-year grace period.It will carry an annual service charge of three quarters of a percent, the statement said.The World Bank said separately on Monday it would also finance the bulk of a project to combat air pollution, which was a leading cause of mortality and morbidity."It is estimated that if the exposure to urban air pollution were reduced by 20 percent...it would result in saving 1,200 to 3,500 lives annually and avoiding 80 to 230 million cases of disease," the World Bank said.The Bangladesh government has recently initiated a "Clean Air and Sustainable Environment" project with an estimated cost of $75 million.The project will target key air polluting sectors, especially urban transport and brick making.About $65 million of the project's funding would come from the IDA, while the rest will be borne by the Bangladesh government, a World Bank official told Reuters.($1= 68.50 taka)