Waste turning Dhaleshwari into another Buriganga

The Dhaleshwari river is being polluted gradually due to poor waste management of Savar tannery estate, turning the river into another Buriganga, according to a field visit report of Poribesh Bachao Andolon (Poba).

The installed waste management module in the estate failed to do its job properly and most of the tanneries do not follow proper procedure of refining and dumping waste, the report said.

Environmentalists, in the report, called upon the authorities concerned to take effective measures on waste management in order to prevent the pollution and punish those who were responsible for it. Otherwise, the newly constructed tannery zone will turn into Hazaribagh, they observed.

Poba prepared the report based on its recent visit to Savar tannery estate. The green organisation unveiled the report at a press conference at its office in the capital yesterday, said a press release.

Reading out the report, Poba Chairman Abu Naser Khan said industries ministry, tannery owners and environment department cannot avoid their responsibilities on the poor waste management of the estate. Two waste management modules of the estate were not working as per requirement, and the tannery authorities were dumping the waste without treatment, he said, adding that dumping the untreated waste is polluting the Dhaleshwari river badly.

Besides, all the tannery authorities do not send their waste to the waste disposal system, he said in the release. On September 8, a Poba team visited the estate to prepare the report.