Toxic bitumen dumped in river

A worker dumping toxic bitumen in the Ichhamati River beside an under construction road in Pabna municipality on Saturday.Photo: STAR

Pabna municipal authorities on Saturday dumped toxic bitumen, a black sticky road-surfacing material obtained from tar, in the Ichhamati River, violating environmental rules.
“We have dumped five containers of bitumen in the river beside an under construction road in Singa area in the municipality as it was not fit for use,” said Ziaul Islam Polash, assistant engineer of Pabna municipality.
Isharat, Chand Ali and other workers at the site said the municipal authorities dumped the bitumen into the river despite a strong protest by local people.
Dumping poisonous chemical into river is a criminal offence. It pollutes water and causes destruction to fish and other aquatic resources, said Md Saifullah Talukder, deputy director of the Department of Environment in Rajshahi division.
Earlier on the day, a team of Pabna municipality led by Mayor Kamrul Hassan Mintu visited the under construction road. During the visit, the team found that the contractor was using overheated bitumen in the road.
“We use bitumen, which is usually heated at 160 degrees Celsius. But we found the bitumen heated at a temperature of over 200 degrees Celsius was being used in the road,” Engineer Polash said, adding that they have seized five containers of overheated bitumen from the spot and later dumped the substance into nearby Ichhamati River.