DHAKA: The Buriganga River, capital Dhaka’s endangered lifeline, is going to get a new life drawing in freshwater from the Jamuna under a government plan already fianalised.

As the Buriganga is heavily polluted by reckless dumping of wastes, it is going to be veritable medical operation like blood transfusion as its contaminated waters will be withdrawn before pumping in the freshwater, according to official sources.     

Upon implementation of the Tk 1,500 crore project, the Buriganga will be freed from pollution by the year 2013 by augmenting its flow of water, claimed the Water Development Board officials.

But, water experts disagreed with the WDB officials.

They said reducing river pollution in such way could not be successful. Pollution could be reduced through enforcing the Environment Law, the experts suggested.

‘The Augmentation of Buriganga Flow by Restoring Silted-up Links of Jamuna Project’ had been undertaken in the bygone 2004-05 fiscal year. Later, implementation of the project was stalled. After assuming power, the present government revived the scheme.

According to the project, WDB would bring water from the Jamuna to increase the flow of the rivers surrounding the capital.

Engineer Md. Saidur Rahman, Chief Monitoring Officer of the WDB, told
banglanews24.com.bd, “Activities to stop river pollution will continue. In the present situation of the Buriganga and other rivers, there is no alternative to implementing the project.”

A WDB official informed as per the plan, Jamuna waters in Tangail region would be channeled into the Buriganga through the Turag in the first phase and then into the Balu and the Shitalakshya.

“To carry out this task, dredging will be conducted in the estuary on a large scale. Dredging will also be needed in the Buriganga and the Turag rivers,” he said.

Expressing a different opinion, Dr. Mohammad Enamul Haque, DG of Water Resources Planning Organization (WARPO), said this project cannot remove pollution.

Explaining his viewpoint, Haque said, “If the project is implemented, pollution of Savar and Dhamrai will flow down into the capital while Dhaka’s pollution will spread to Munshiganj and Narayanganj. Installation of waste-treatment plant is the only remedy. ”

He also said the water bodies and rivers of Dhaka are now used as the “stabilization pond” for treatment of wastes. “If new filths are not dumped into these water bodies, then these wastes would disappear into the earth and wind.”

 BDST: 1850 HRS, AUG 25, 2010