Dinajpur BSCIC estate a growing health hazard

The Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) industrial estate in Dinajpur is causing untold sufferings for people living and working in the area as the rice mills present are pouring copious amounts of ash and other pollutants into the environment.

As Dinajpur is one of the largest producers of food grains in the country, entrepreneurs were given priority for setting up rice mills inside the BSCIC industrial estate, which was established in 1965 on 35.14 acres of land in the Pulhat area under Dinajpur municipality.

With a total of 189 plots available, 54 entrepreneurs set up rice mills in the 1980s while the rest were eventually filled out over the years.

As result, about 90 per cent of the units at the estate are operating as rice mills that employ about 6,400 people collectively.

In addition, about 45 of the industrialists have since transformed their units into automatic or semi-automatic rice mills thanks to the adoption of modern practices that have helped improve production.

However, their activities have turned the estate and its neighbouring areas into a mess as much of the waste produced goes untreated amid the lack of necessary facilities, maintenance and infrastructural development.

The situation is so bad that even the BSCIC office itself is in shabby condition.

Besides, hazardous pollution emanating from the BSCIC industrial area in Dinajpur is affecting residents of neighbouring villages that become densely populated.

During a visit to the compound last Thursday, it was found that all the rice mills were constantly emitting plumes of black smoke filled with dust particles.

The smoke and dust make it hard to breathe while the falling particles make visibility an issue as well, according to locals.

The heavy air pollution means that getting eye injuries is commonplace in the area, they said, adding that the situation could have been avoided had rice millers used improved technologies.

The mills produce tonnes of ash each day, but the particles are kept in open piles that are gradually disbursed into the air by wind.

Making matters worse, the estate's lack of a proper drainage system means that polluted water released from mills remains stagnant.

This correspondent found that the entire drainage system is clogged for a lack of cleaning while the whole area is similarly dirty for the same reason.

According to BSCIC officials, the estate has a roughly 9,000 feet-long drainage system that was built in the 1990s.

And although more heavy industries were set up since then, the drainage system was not renovated or improved, they said.

Another problem plaguing the BSCIC industrial estate in Dinajpur is the sorry state of its interior road network.

Around 5,000 feet of roads were constructed inside the industrial area in the 1990s, BSCIC officials say.

However, this correspondent found that not a single street is in good condition as there is a lack of maintenance amid heavy vehicle movement in the area.

A number of roads were even seemingly flooded with sludge made from ash and polluted water as a result of the poor drainage system.

The estate authorities said that 1,400 feet of roads were renovated around 10 years ago, but that was not enough to improve road connectivity in the area.

Md Golam Rabbani, deputy general manager of the BSCIC office in Dinajpur, said pollution in the area comes down to the uncontrolled release of pollutants created by scores of rice mills inside the industrial estate.

The situation is so bad that even the furniture inside his office was found to be covered in a layer of dust and ash particles that needs to be cleaned daily.

Rabbani went on to say that investors of the industrial estate in Dinajpur collectively pay around Tk 40 lakh each year as various fees and charges.

However, around 20 per cent of the plot holders are not making payments regularly, he said.

The deputy general manager then said the asphalt being used on local roads is not suitable and instead, roller compacted concreted would be the best solution as it tends to last for 50 years.

"Such roads will be built in the industrial area if given the allocation," he added.

Reza Shamim Humayun Kabir, president of the Dinajpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said pollution at the BSCIC area is abnormally high but the use of modern technology could reduce it.

"Also, the government should come forward to build the required infrastructure," he added.

Kabir, also a former president of the Dinajpur Rice Millers Association, then said the peoples' suffering is getting worse each year.

There are around 234 automatic rice mills in the district, half of which are located in the BSCIC industrial estate while the rest are based in surrounded areas.

"In a word, the situation is grim," Kabir said.

Another issue is that since there is a lack of available land in the area, the authorities have no scope to allocate space for emerging entrepreneurs in the district.

However, BSCIC officials said they are preparing a project to start an industrial park on around 200 acres in Kaharol upazila of Dinajpur.