HARIDAYA on deathbed

Rampant encroachment and dumping of waste have put Haridaya river in Narsingdi on deathbed.

The situation is deteriorating day by day due to the authorities' inaction, alleged locals.

Meanwhile, different government bodies stay locked in a blame game instead of taking effective measures to protect the 38-kilometre-long river.

Once considered to be a sanctuary of different local fishes, the river has now turned into a narrow canal, with its pungent blackish water posing as a health hazard.

During a recent visit, this correspondent found that several hundreds of concrete structures, including factories, houses and other business institutions have been set up beside the river bank.

Furthermore, tonnes of waste from factories, kitchen markets and households are being poured into the river.

To restore its navigability, Water Development Board (WDB) excavated the Haridaya in 2018. However, the effort went in vain as people kept dumping waste in the river due to a lack of monitoring.

The Narsingdi Boro Bazar -- consisting of around 2,000 shops -- is located in the town on the bank of the river. Locals estimate over two tonnes of waste from the market are dumped in the river daily.

Monira Akter, a zoology teacher at Narsingdi Public College, said, "In our childhood, around three decades ago, we saw many types of local fishes, including Zebrafish, Baan, Bata, Boyal and Gojar in this river."

"But now the river has become so polluted that no fish can survive here," she said.

"There were around 150 to 200 fishers in my village who used to live by fishing in this river. But now it is very hard to get any fish there. As a result, all the fishers have changed their profession," said another local Omar Faruk.

Moinul Islam Miru, president of Narsingdi Poribesh Andolon, said the  river is dying as the administration is yet to take any  effective measures.

Contacted, Babul Sarkar, president of Narsingdi Bazar Traders Association, said, "We have directed all the traders not to dump waste in the river. But some have continued the practice."

"The municipal authorities have provided us with an insufficient number of dustbins. We need more. The conservancy workers need to be regular as well," he added.

Narsingdi Municipal Mayor Amzad Hossain Bacchu denied the allegations and said cleaners remove waste from the Bazar regularly.

"Earlier, we provided sufficient numbers of drums to dump wastes, which got stolen. We do not have enough funds to be buying bins regularly," he added.

The mayor also blamed the Department of Environment for its inaction.

Contacted, Md Nazmul Huda, director of the Department of Environment in Narsingdi, said, "The municipal authorities are responsible for waste management. Our duty is to monitor their activities. They are not performing their duties"

"We will soon issue a warning notice to stop the river pollution," he said.

Narsingdi's Water Development Board engineer Bijoy Indra Sankar Chakrabarty said, "We have initiated a river excavation project. Haridaya's water flow will return to its previous state after the work is completed."