Sylhet Bureau :
Air pollution level has declined in Sylhet due to the several initiatives for controlling the environmental hazards. At the same time, living organisms of biodiversity in Sylhet are being created.
According to Clean Air and Sustainable Environment-CASE data, levels of PM10 (Particulate Matter composed of various substances such as black carbon and mineral dust) reduced to 150.3 in 2019 from 257.4 micrograms per cubic meters in 2017 and PM2.5 smaller particulars also came down to 83.6 micrograms per cubic meters from 177.3.
A number of development projects on improving the environment have been implemented in the Sylhet City area during the last 10 years under the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said Sylhet City Corporation authorities.
Talking to BSS Noor Azizur Rahman, Chief Engineer of Sylhet City Corporation said, ‘Scientific methods have been adopted in the management of household and medical waste. As a result, Sylhet is now a ‘Green and Clean’ city.’
‘For the protection of the city environment, several projects involving a total of Tk 400 crore have been implemented in the last 10 years. Of these projects, rehabilitation and cleanliness of the rivers and canals has been implemented at a cost of Tk 236 crore,’ he added. A ‘Sanitary Landfill’ has been constructed at a cost of Tk 60 crore for the modernization of waste management in Sylhet city.
‘Due to taking some timely steps through identifying several reasons for environmental pollution, the quality of environment has changed in Sylhet. This has been because of the government’s financial assistance and the spontaneous cooperation of the city dwellers,’ said Ariful Haque Choudhury, Mayor of Sylhet City Corporation.
‘Apart from it, we have another project to collect medical wastes from hospitals and diagnostic centers and manage it hygienically,’ the mayor told.
There are 217 clinics and hospitals in Sylhet city. No one of these hospitals and clinics has the incineration system to manage the clinical wastes. That is why the Sylhet City Corporation (SCC) manages the entire clinical wastes using ‘auto-clave technology’.
Meanwhile, Md. Sharaf Uddin, Prof. of Agro Forestry and Environmental Science of Sylhet Agricultural University emphasized on the plantation of trees for protecting city’s environment.
He said, ‘There is no way to ignore three plantation for achieving sustainable development targets.
‘Air pollution in Sylhet has been reduced due to the government’s initiatives. But ecology has been affected seriously because of the infrastructural development’, he added.
Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Md Shahab Uddin said, ‘The government has a plan to build a protection wall around the roads and railway area so that the animals remain safe in the forest.’
Deputy Forest Officer of Sylhet S. M. Sajjad Hossain told that there is a wildlife conservation center in Sylhet where the affected animals are treated and later, they are released in the appropriate places. There are several environmental organizations in Sylhet that help the forest department activities.
The organisations are Bangladesh Environmental Movement-BAPA, ‘Bhoomisantan Bangladesh’, ‘Pradhikar’, Sylhet Agricultural University, and ‘Green Exposure Society’ of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology.
M Kazi Emdadul Islam, Deputy Commissioner of Sylhet, said, ‘Development work will be carried out keeping the environment safe. The public administration in Sylhet shows zero tolerance against the environmental destructions.’
