Nurul Islam, 70, looks over the Buriganga river, where he once used to fish in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 18 March, 2023. Two decades ago Islam earned his living by fishing in the Buriganga river that flows southwest of the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka and was once its lifeline
Nurul Islam, 70, looks over the Buriganga river, where he once used to fish in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 18 March, 2023. Two decades ago Islam earned his living by fishing in the Buriganga river that flows southwest of the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka and was once its lifeline
Bangladesh in World Media

Living along a ‘dead’ river in Bangladesh

ReutersDhaka

Two decades ago Nurul Islam, 70, earned his living by fishing in the Buriganga river that flows southwest of the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka and was once its lifeline.

Now, with hardly any fish to be found in the ‘dead’ river, thanks to pollution from widespread dumping of industrial and human waste, Islam now sells street food on a small cart nearby to make ends meet.

“Twenty years ago this river water was good. It was full of life,” said Islam, whose family has been living on the bank of the river for generations.

“We used to bathe in the river. There were lots of fish... many of us used to earn a living by catching fish in the river. Now the scenario has changed.”

Women dry cattle hides outside of a tannery by the Dhaleshwari river, which feeds into the Buriganga river, in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 7 March, 2023. The Buriganga, or the ‘Old Ganges’, is so polluted that its water appears pitch black, except during the monsoon months, and emits a foul stench through the year. The South Asian nation of nearly 170 million, with about 23 million living in Dhaka, has about 220 small and large rivers and a large chunk of its population depends on rivers for a living and transport. Untreated sewage, by-products of fabric dyeing and other chemical waste from nearby mills and factories flow in daily. Polythene and plastic waste piled on the riverbed have made it shallow and caused a shift in course

The Buriganga, or the ‘Old Ganges’, is so polluted that its water appears pitch black, except during the monsoon months, and emits a foul stench through the year.

Tree trunks are stacked in a timber market on the bank of the Bangshai river, upstream of the Buriganga river, in the Mirzapur area of Tangail, Bangladesh, on 1 March, 2023. The Buriganga, or the ‘Old Ganges’, is so polluted that its water appears pitch black, except during the monsoon months, and emits a foul stench through the year

The South Asian nation of nearly 170 million, with about 23 million living in Dhaka, has about 220 small and large rivers and a large chunk of its population depends on rivers for a living and transport.

The devastation of areas like Buriganga comes into greater focus in the run-up to Earth Day, when people worldwide celebrate and mobilise in support of protecting the environment.

Workers dump waste into a landfill located just beside Dhaleshwari river, water from which flows into the Buriganga river, in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 7 March, 2023

Bangladesh is the world’s second-biggest garment exporter after China but citizens and environment activists say the booming industry is also a major contributor to the ecological decline of the river.

Untreated sewage, by-products of fabric dyeing and other chemical waste from nearby mills and factories flow in daily. Polythene and plastic waste piled on the riverbed have made it shallow and caused a shift in course.

White foam is formed in the water as ferryman Abdul Karim, 72, rides his boat in the Buriganga river near the Sadarghat area in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 27 March, 2023

“Those who bathe in this river often suffer from scabies on their skin,” said Siddique Hawlader, 45, a ferryman who lives on his boat on the river.

“Sometimes our eyes itch and burn,” he added.

In 1995 Bangladesh made it compulsory for all industrial units to use effluent treatment plants so as to keep pollution out of its rivers, but industries often flout the rule.

While the government makes regular checks to ensure the rules are being followed, it lacks the staff for “round-the-clock” monitoring, said environment official Mohammad Masud Hasan Patwari.

Dye-coloured water is discharged directly into the Buriganga river in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 6 March, 2023
Day labourer Motahar Hossain, 65, takes a bath in the polluted water of the Buriganga river in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 6 March, 2023
Children fly kites on the bank of the Buriganga river in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 5 March, 2023
Children roam around an area where sewage water is directly discharged into the Buriganga river in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 5 March, 2023
Part of the Buriganga river shrinks into a narrow stream, due to unauthorised occupancy blocking a river channel, in the Kamrangirchar area in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 5 March, 2023
Water, which has been coloured by textile dye and will eventually enter the Turag and Buriganga rivers, flows through a narrow stream in the Mawna Union area, north of Gazipur, Bangladesh, on 2 March, 2023
Water, which has been coloured by textile dye and will eventually flow through the Labandha, Turag and Buriganga rivers, is released near a paddy field in the Mawna Union area, north of Gazipur, Bangladesh, on 2 March, 2023

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) said all textile factories had effluent treatment plants for wastewater.

“This is mandatory and there is no way to skip the rules as they must ensure compliance with international standards,” said Shahidullah Azim, one of its officials.

Pollution in the river water during the dry season was well above standard levels, a recent survey by the River and Delta Research Center showed, identifying industrial sewage as the main culprit.

“The once-fresh and mighty river Buriganga is now on the verge of dying because of the rampant dumping of industrial and human waste,” said Sharif Jamil of environment group the Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon.

“There is no fish or aquatic life in this river during the dry season. We call it biologically dead.”

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