The BIWTA and other authorities concerned are working to stop pollution and free the Buriganga, the Turag, the Balu and the Sitalakshya from illegal grabbers as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has set up a ‘task force’ to protect the rivers.
State minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury said this on Wednesday while inaugurating a plant for treating polluted water from drains on the bank of the Buriganga at Sadarghat here as a pilot project, said a press release.
“In order to protect the rivers and keep those free from encroachment and pollution, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had given the overall directives in 1999. Later, the BNP-Jamaat alliance did not implement the directives when they assured power, and the river water became more polluted than it was,” Khalid said.
“The Department of Environment is canceling the certificates, snapping the electricity and gas connections of the industries and organizations that are not using effluent treatment plant (ETP) to purify contaminated water…Walkways, eco-parks and jetties are being constructed. We are working accordingly to protect the important rivers of the country,” he added.
“BIWTA, Dhaka WASA and Dhaka City Corporation will work together to treat polluted water under the auspices of the Ministry of Shipping if this treatment plant becomes fruitful within six months,” Khalid said.
Additional Shipping Secretary Anal Chandra Das and Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) Chairman Commodore Golam Sadek were also present, among others, at the inauguration programme.
BIWTA has set up two treatment plants to treat polluted water of the Buriganga River. The treated water is not drinkable but it is safe for fish and other aquatic organisms.
