World Rivers Day on 27 September brings pledges to save rivers every year, but photographs from Dhaka and Chattogram tell a different story. Both cities grew up around rivers, yet the Shitalakshya, the Buriganga and the Karnaphuli collect plastic, polythene and factory wastewater every day.

Pictures taken at Demra on 26 September show chemical-laden factory water turning the Shitalakshya black, with a sharp line where the polluted water meets the main current. Near the Sultana Kamal bridge, fuel, oil and liquid waste from ships, launches and engine boats go into the river untreated.

On the Buriganga near Shyampur, toxic factory water is discharged straight into the river, damaging the aquatic environment and its biodiversity. The Dhaka photographs are by Prothom Alo photographer Sajid Hossain.

In Chattogram, pictures taken on 27 September show a film of oil and floating waste on the Karnaphuli, and the same two-coloured water where the city's wastewater flows in. In one, two children pick plastic out of the floating rubbish. The Chattogram photographs are by Sourav Das.

Prothom Alo's report says encroachment and pollution of rivers now threaten public health as well as aquatic biodiversity. For fishers and farmers who depend on river fish and irrigation water, the pollution is also a question of livelihood.

Photo: Sajid Hossain / Prothom Alo

Source: Prothom Alo