Karnaphuli River: Tk 49cr extra to dredge plastic!
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The project cost for dredging work in Karnaphuli River has increased by 19 percent, as workers now have to remove a thick layer of plastic waste from the riverbed.
The cost has increased from Tk 258 crore to Tk 307 crore, and the project's deadline would also be extended for an additional year, said sources working on the project.
The work of "Navigability Enhancement Project in Karnaphuli River from Sadarghat to Bakalia Char" started in September 2018 and was supposed to be completed by June 2022, they said.
However, work slowed down after a thick layer of plastics, largely made up of polythene, was found on the riverbed.
A study conducted by Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) researchers in June 2019 revealed that the riverbed has a two-to-seven-metre-thick layer of plastic waste, said sources at Chattogram Port Authority (CPA).
"When the project was initiated, 42 lakh cubic feet of waste and earth was supposed to be removed," said Commander M Arifur Rahman, chief hydrographer of CPA. "Now, after shipping ministry's decision to remove the polythene layer, we will remove 51 lakh cubic feet of waste and earth."
"Polythene dumped into canals ultimately goes into Karnaphuli, forming a thick layer in the riverbed," said Arifur. "We are facing serious problems during dredging due to the polythene layer."
"People must be aware of the bad effects of polythene and should not throw such materials in waterbodies," he said.
CANALS FILLED WITH PLASTICS
Plastics, mainly polythene, are being dumped into waterbodies in the port city indiscriminately, posing serious threat to the environment.
A large part of such wastes goes into Karnaphuli river during high tide every day, and over the years, this formed a thick layer of polythene on the riverbed, said experts.
While visiting last week, this correspondent saw that most parts of canals and drains in different areas of the city were full of plastics.
In many areas, a new visitor might even mistake the canals as landfills, as the thick layer of polythene engulfed the upper part of the waterbodies.
Polythene covered Chaktai canal on KB Aman Ali Road as far as the eye could see.
Locals said this situation did not happen in a few days or weeks. Irresponsible people have been dumping plastics into canals for years, and there is no one to manage the issue.
"Look at the canal…will anybody call it a canal? It has turned into a dumping ground for plastics," said Abdus Shukkur, a resident of Phooltola in his sixties.
"Irresponsible residents dump waste, but the canal's condition wouldn't have been be so bad if Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) officials cleaned it regularly," he said.
The same situation prevailed in Birza canal in Rahattarpool area; waste covered the canal right from the culvert. Md Yasin, a resident of the area, said he did not see CCC staffers clean the canal in the past one year.
"Not only the canal, but most drains here are also filled with plastics," he said. Following his statement, this correspondent looked at the secondary drain in Ujir Ali Shah Lane of Rahattarpool and found it filled with plastics.
Plastics were also seen in Jamal Khan and Hizra canals.
Sources said most of the 37 canals in the city have been badly affected by plastic wastes.
Contacted, CCC Chief Executive Officer Kazi Mohammad Mozammel Hoque said CCC started door-to-door waste collection five years ago, which is ongoing. "So, people should not dump waste into canals or drains."
Asked why CCC does not clean canals regularly, he said they clean the drains frequently but cannot clean all the canals often due to lack of logistic facilities.
"In many areas, banks of canals have been occupied, and our vehicles cannot go through," he added.
Department of Environment (DoE) officials said they did not know how much polythene materials are used or dumped by the city's residents per day.
Jamir Uddin, assistant director of DoE, Chattogram, told The Daily Star that they conduct drives to thwart illegal production of polythene over a certain thickness (55 microns).
"We do not have any study on how much polythene is used a day in the city," he said.
Contacted, Prof Manzoorul Kibria of Chittagong University's zoology department said different planning of waste management can change the situation.
"The wastes are considered to be a burden, but these would have to be turned into resources," he said. "In many cities, including in Singapore, Malaysia and Australia, I saw waste being managed instrumentally."
"Our waste management system is still manual," he continued. "In instrumental management, different private companies are entrusted to collect waste door-to-door in certain areas, and then, they sort those in their recycling plants."
"Electricity and bio-fertiliser can be produced through recycling bio-degradable wastes, and those that are non-degradable, including glass, plastic and iron, can be recycled in the industry," he said. "So, changes in policy is a must to get rid of the problem."
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