A NEWS report carried in this paper yesterday based on the findings of an international body on urban air pollution level sends alarms and deserves urgent remedial actions before it becomes too late to control the damages already done. The latest WHO air pollution monitoring report ranked Bangladesh at fourth place among 91 countries which have the worst urban air quality. According to the assessment of Ambient Air Pollution (AAP) report, Narayanganj stands at 17th position in terms of air quality whereas Gazipur and Dhaka rank 21st and 23rd respectively. Indian capital Delhi occupies the worst place among our neighbours. AAP database consists mainly of urban air quality data of 1600 cities from 91 countries. According to the report, almost 90 percent of people living in the cities are being exposed to dangerous levels of air pollution. No doubt, air pollution in the country’s major cities is worsening and we must think of controlling it without any delay.
The reasons behind the air pollution, the report says, are the extensive presence of carbon monoxide (CO), sulphur dioxide (SO2), oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and ozone (O3), methane and non-methane pollutants. Dhaka, Narayangonj and Gazipur are the top industrial belts of the country and therefore the level of pollution is naturally high there. But the air in other cities are not free from pollution. According to the Department of Environment (DoE), though Narayanganj has the highest level of gaseous pollutants, the air of Rajshahi contains the highest level of dust particles.
Our industrial areas are situated in the midst of densely populated regions. The growth of industries of Dhaka and Narayangonj and Gazipur has generally been unplanned without keeping the issue of environmental protection in careful consideration. Though many factors are liable for making Dhaka unlivable, air pollution tops the list. Several industries i.e. textile manufacturers including dyeing and printing units, tannery, poultry farms and pharmaceuticals are polluting the air quality in many ways. Most industries lack ETPs and the control system is rather non-effectual. The green activists are now much more vocal and demand the relocation of such industries. We share the concern of the environmentalists and question the role of governments and its Environment Ministry who are paying no attention to the problem. Unplanned urban planning and the government’s failure to take the environment and public health issues into consideration are emerging as big challenges for the country to solve.
Pollution costs the country very dearly, both in lives and expenditures. As per data by the World Bank, costs associated with pollution in Dhaka is approximately $ 800 million every year and also 15000 human lives. The government should take emergency effective measures to reduce the pollutants by making the city more arboreal through mass afforestation programmes. Or else, the air in the city will soon become impossible to breathe and this may force our citizens to suffer slow asphyxiation.
What is more important is that the policy planners should be aware of the fallout of the damages caused to nature in the process of economic growth related exercises and they should equally try to strike a balance between achieving economic growth and keeping nature pristine.
