Plan to take stern action against polluters of Karnaphuli

The river Karnaphuli is being polluted due to disposal of toxic wastes by different industrial units in Chittagong and an open latrine, inset, on the bank of Karnaphuli in Majhirghat area in the port city.Photo: STAR

The Department of Environment (DoE) will take stern action against the industrial units that have failed to meet the deadline of October 31, 2007 for dumping wastes after refining in the river Karnaphuli.
The DoE will hold with the local administration, including deputy commissioner and representatives from Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) and Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) and Chittagong Port Authority (CPA), on January 10 in this regard.
The meeting is being held after a lapse of two months to finalise the next course and method of actions against the defaulters, sources said.
Initiative has been taken to protect the river Karnaphuli, lifeline of Chittagong, from pollution that has been posing a threat to the aquatic species as well as the human health for long.
The DoE served notices to the industrial units that have been contributing to the rampant pollution of the Karnaphuli by dumping different types of wastes everyday.
Only 10 percent of the industries responded positively to the deadline for dumping the wastes after refining in the river expired on October 31 last year, said DoE Director Mohammad Nazmul Haque.
He said dumping of the wastes after refining by the remaining industrial units are under process. He said stern action will be taken against those who are yet to comply with the directive.
Sources at DoE said more than 700 industrial units in the port city, division and both the banks of the river stretching from the estuary of the Karnaphuli to Chandraghona under Kaptai upazila in Rangamati district, have long been dumping chemical and other wastes in the river directly or indirectly.
The industrial units include Karnaphuli Fertiliser Company (Kafco), Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Limited (CUFL), Karnaphuli Paper Mill (KPM), Karnaphuli Rayon Complex, 19 tanneries, 26 textile mills, two chemical industries, five fish processing industries, two soap industries, two pesticide plants and an asphalt bitumen plant.
Most of the industries are situated in Kalurghat Heavy Industrial Areas, Roufabad in Oxygen area, Aturer Depot, Bayezid Bostami, Chaktai, Khatunganj and Sadarghat areas.
Nazmul said of the industries, Kafco, CUFL, Karnaphuli Paper Mills and tanneries are greatly attributing to the pollution of the all-important river.
In addition to these, household wastes of around 38 lakh people from 41 wards in CCC also find their ways to the river through different canals like Mohesh Khal (canal), Doomkhali Khal, Chaktai Khal, Nasir Khal, Monohorkhali Khal, Sadarghat Khal and Razakhali Khal.
Mohammad Shahadat Hossain, assistant professor of Institute of Marine Sciences and Fisheries at Chittagong University (CU), emphasised the need for identifying the actual threatening areas on the banks of the river.
Prof Shahdat, who conducted several researches on pollution of the river, said pollution will decrease automatically if different structures are built on both the banks of the river under the government control for different purposes.
He said the DoE efforts along with the administration should be well-managed and need strict supervision to achieve the goal.