A Tk 184 crore project for integrated monitoring of pollution in the rivers around Dhaka is going to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for approval. Funded by the World Bank and run by the Department of Environment from 1 July this year to 31 December 2028, it plans to use drones in particular to watch pollution on the Turag.
According to the proposal, drones will regularly monitor dumping along the riverbanks, the main sources and hotspots of pollution will be identified, and a final list will be drawn up of factories discharging waste in breach of environmental rules. Alongside raids, notices and fines, factories will be made to install and run effluent treatment plants.
Key tasks include making the ETPs work at 173 factories identified along the Turag, a real-time online system to monitor industrial water quality, and boat patrols to clean the riverbed. Water will be sampled and analysed at least 36 times during the project.
The environment ministry's 333-4 helpline will become an integrated complaints system, factories that adopt green practices will receive a 'Green Star Rating', and options for cutting carbon emissions and carbon trading will be assessed.
The proposal says the Turag, an important tributary of the Bangshi, has long supplied water for farming, fisheries and households, but rapid urbanisation and unplanned industry have badly polluted and encroached on it, threatening aquatic life. An official linked to the project said the aim is to strengthen the department's monitoring and enforcement and stop untreated wastewater being dumped through real-time surveillance.
The report is by Rezaul Karim Byron of The Daily Star.
Photo: Jubair1985 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: The Daily Star
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