Waste management a far cry in Tangail

At the very entrances of Tangail district town -- on Tangail-Mymensingh highway in north, Tangail-Aricha highway in south, and Dhaka-Tangail highway in east --  await heaps of garbage dumped by municipality authorities after collecting from households.

A putrid stench dissipates from it, adding to the nuisance for people living in the vicinity or passing by the roads.

For over 250 tonnes of household garbage produced daily by around one million residents of 11 municipalities under Tangail district, the authorities have no dumping grounds to dispose of the waste, while installing a modern waste management system remains a far cry.

As such, the residents and the municipality authorities have long been dumping waste on roadsides, drains, waterbodies, and even forest areas, polluting the environment, threatening public health, and causing civic inconveniences.

What is more unfortunate is that the municipality authorities have hardly taken any initiative to improve their waste management system.

According to the Local Government (Municipalities) Act, 2009, waste management is the third responsibility of municipalities, alongside ensuring public health and protecting the environment.

Instead of ensuring it, the municipalities in Tangail are violating environmental laws and jeopardising public health by dumping garbage openly.

Indiscriminate dumping of garbage in the open is against the environment protection law, according to Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association.

In Tangail Municipality, about four lakh people live in an area of 29.43 square kilometres, producing around 70 tonnes of garbage daily.

According to municipal office sources, waste is collected from 10 wards completely and from three wards partially, while no waste is collected from five wards.

The collected garbage is dumped on the side of important roads. Sometimes those are incinerated openly, producing harmful smoke that pollutes the environment.

"The dumped wastes often contaminate waterbodies after being washed away by rain, while causing waterlogging on roads," said Selim Miah of Kagmari area.

"They are filling up open ditches with garbage, including medical waste, hampering drainage system as well as endangering public well-being," said Atoar Hossain of Aatpukur area.

A similar picture was seen when this correspondent visited Kalihati, Bhuanpur, Madhupur, Ghatail, Sakhipur, Mirzapur, Dhanbari, Basail, Gopalpur, and Elenga municipalities.

In Madhupur, the municipal garbage is being dumped in the forest area, around 10km away from the town, in an utter display of indifference towards its responsibility to protect environment and wildlife.

Contacted, the municipality mayors either said they are still trying or expressed helplessness.

"A land has been located for dumping waste in Rabna bypass area, and purchasing the land under a World Bank project is underway," said SM Sirajul Haque Khan, mayor of Tangail municipality.

In Kalihati municipality, a project funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency is underway to purchase four acres of land for dumping waste.

"A proposal to purchase land for dumping waste has been submitted to the ministry concerned," said Masudul Haque Masud, mayor of Bhuanpur municipality.

"We are forced to dump the wastes near Madhupur forest area as we have no land to dispose of the wastes within the municipality," said Siddique Hossain Khan, mayor of Madhupur municipality.

"As we have no dedicated land to get rid of the garbage, it is being dumped in different places, including roadside," said Abdur Rashid Miah, mayor of Ghatail municipality.

Prof Aktar Mahmud, vice president of Bangladesh Institute of Planners, said, "It is unfortunate that the authorities concerned do not understand the significance of proper waste disposal and management. For building a sustainable city or township, ensuring proper waste management facilities is a must."