A river turns black... Pollution turns a Bangladeshi river into a public health disaster

2023-12-26 2023-12-26T09:24:26Z

ArabiaWeather - A worrying environmental development has witnessed a river in Bangladesh turning black, indicating a high level of pollution that poses a major threat to millions of residents in the surrounding areas. This worrying change not only reflects an impact on the pollution of a vital water source, but also threatens to disrupt systems. The local environment may cause long-term health problems for those who depend on this river to meet their daily needs.

The river in Bangladesh faces illegal seizure and devastating pollution

The battle against river encroachments is centered around efforts to conserve the river, with Dr. Manjur Ahmad Chowdhury, former chairman of the Bangladesh National River Conservation Commission, highlighting the illegal seizure of rivers by industrial factions, developers, politically powerful individuals, and even government agencies. The National River Conservation Commission has demonstrated thousands of cases of illegal occupation of foreshores and river lands, making those evacuation efforts even more powerless.

Despite the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority's attempts to evict illegal encroachers, politically influential individuals continue to evade the law, enabling them to continue illegal construction. The rivers surrounding urban and industrial areas suffer from severe pollution, as the level of dissolved oxygen in the Water is greatly reduced, leading to the death of most aquatic life in those areas.

Industrial pollution... the inherent danger

The dyeing and leather industries have shown themselves to be a major source of chemical pollution in rivers and surface waters, and despite existing regulations, law enforcement has failed to impose effective measures to limit the spread of this pollution, allowing these industries to continue their polluting actions unimpeded and thus, able to continue Polluting rivers without consequences, threatening to turn it into a potential disaster affecting public health.