Noman Mosharef :
The environmental pollutions have been increasing alarmingly in the country. Specially, the air, water, sound pollution, use of polyethylene and plastic are worsening situation.
The young generation, especially the children are more affected by the environmental pollution. Not only the teen and kid, the adult are also victims of the environmental degradation. If we fail to save our environment, then our next generation will face existence of extinct.
A World Health Organisation (WHO) report said, one out of every four people has died for environmental pollution in the world. About four million people have died for air pollution in a year across the world.
Stamford University’s Center for Atmospheric Pollution Studies (CAPS) has found in a survey that due to the noise pollution of the vehicles, the hearing of 11.8 per cent of the traffic police is being damaged.
Among them, 15.5 per cent of the traffic police generally have difficulty in listening to mobile phones. 19.1 per cent of households have to watch TV at a higher volume than other members of the household; they have difficulty hearing when they do not speak loudly, 33.9 per cent of traffic police do not hear when they do not speak loudly and 8.2 per cent of traffic police after hours of duty suffer from dizziness, nausea and fatigue.
CAPS founder-director and chairman of the Environmental Sciences department Professor Dr Ahmed Kamruzzaman Mazumder said the most sound came from vehicles and construction works.
He, also chairman of the Environmental Sciences department of Stamford University, said it will naturally come down if traffic jam is reduced and the parking system is arranged.
Md Munibur Rahman, the additional commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (traffic), said noise pollution has a negative impact on traffic police members as they spend day’s one-third time on the road.
Mentioning that the traffic division sat with the Department of Environment several times for an instrument to measure sound pollution, he said, “If they (DoE) give this device, traffic police with an association of magistrate can reduce noise pollution a bit by fining people.”
The government in a surprise move has shifted from its stance against the use of polyethylene and plastic products of convenience packaging because of the damage they do to the environment.
Although the government on numerous occasions discouraged the use of plastic, terming it a great threat to the environment, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal in the 2022-23 budget has proposed withdrawing the existing 5pc supplementary duty on all types of polythene and plastic bags.
Green campaigners, however, denounced the proposal, saying it would encourage the use of environmentally hazardous single-use polybags.
“If it is accepted, the proposal will welcome single-use plastic and it will definitely go wrong for our environment,” said Siddika Sultana, Executive Director of the Environment and Social Development Organization.
Siddika pointed out to Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change gazette that directed all the concerned to stop use of single-use plastic from coastal districts of Bangladesh by 2023.
While the Environment Conservation Act 1995 banned all kinds of poly bags, or any other article made of polyethylene or polypropylene, a provision in the law allowed for some forms of it to be used based on prior approval.
The Bangladesh Nature Conservation Alliance (BNCA), a coalition of 33 environmental rights organizations have expressed concern over the proposal to withdraw the supplementary tax on polythene bags and packaging in the FY 2022-23.
“The price of polythene bags, which are very harmful to the environment, will be reduced and the use of this banned material and environmental pollution in the country will increase, if the proposal is implemented,” BNCA said in a media statement recently.
The proposal to withdraw the supplementary duty is contradictory as the government and the government agencies have been protesting the use of harmful polythene, it added.
Earlier in March, Textile and Jute Minister Golam Dastagir Gazi had spoken in favour of increasing the use of jute products in order to reduce the use of polythene.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina herself had called for stopping the use of polythene and plastic many times.
According to BNCA the intention of such proposal is to encourage the usage of plastic even though it has been banned by law in 2002.
