The Gazipur district area in Bangladesh is seriously affected by environmental pollution
Gazipur district has been severely affected by environmental pollution, and it has come out in public hearing that no water body in Gazipur is free from pollution.
A public hearing was held at Shaheed Ahsan Ullah Master Auditorium of the PTI campus in Gazipur around noon on September 20, 2023.
The environmental organizations BELA, River Transport Communities, CAFOD, and Sweden Sverige organized the hearing.
Gazipur District’s Deputy Commissioner Anisur Rahman was the chief guest in the hearing under the title of ‘Environment Pollution Gazipur’ under the direction of BELA’s Chief Executive Syeda Rizwana Hasan.
Gazipur Sadar Upazila Parishad Chairman Reena Parveen, Bhasha Shahid College Principal Mukul Kumar Mallick, and Bangladesh River Foundation Chairman Muhammad Monir Hossain spoke.
People from different communities who participated commented that these incidents of pollution are happening due to various reasons, including shrinking of water bodies, encroachment, dumping of factory and household waste, and construction of factories, homesteads, and parks on forest land.
Gazipur Sadar Upazila Parishad Chairman Reena Parveen, Bhasha Shahid College Principal Mukul Kumar Mallick, Bangladesh River Foundation Chairman Muhammad Monir Hossain, and others spoke.
People from different communities have commented that these pollution incidents are happening for various reasons, including shrinking water bodies, encroachment, dumping of industrial and household waste, factories, homesteads, and constructing parks in forest land.
Shamsul Haque, Chairman of Gazipur History and Heritage Development, said, “The population of Gazipur is shown in the documents as 2.6 million.
This population produces 70 cubic meters of waste per day. But until now, the city corporation is dumping waste day after day on roads and public roads in an unplanned manner.”
Mosharf Hossain, Gazipur President of River Transport Community, said that madrasas and mosques are being constructed on the banks of the Mogar canal. Mogark Canal flows through 9 villages.
There are 20 village beneficiaries on both sides of the canal. Thousands of acres of land are cultivated with canal water. However, we are no longer able to cultivate agricultural land.
Khorshed Alam, General Secretary of Sripur Upazila River Transport Community, said, “The people of the Department of Environment have never played a role in preventing environmental pollution on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway.
Several factories, including garment factories in the Sreepur Municipal area, are polluting the environment with chemical waste daily. Factory waste is dumped by unnumbered drum trucks day or night from the Gargaria Masterbari Bridge of the Salt Dah Canal in Sreepur.
The waste of the chemical factory in the Mulaid area is regularly dumped in that canal. Not just one, from Tongi to Bhaluka in Mymensingh, the wastes of all the chemical factories are being dumped from the Gargaria Masterbari salt incineration bridge in Sreepur. It must be prevented.
He said, “After planting 83 raintree cardamom trees, 53 survived. Later, all the trees died due to toxic pollution.”
Kazi Badrut Alam Monir, a resident of Sahapara, said, “Several encroachments and some have become dead in Gazipur City’s Jord Pond, City Corporation Building’s north side pond, Tankirpara Pond adjacent to Fire Service Office, Kalibari Pond, Rani Bilasmani Pond.”
Abdul Khalek, a fisherman, said, “Earlier, I used to earn my living by selling fish from Gazipur’s reservoirs. Now, fish are not available in these reservoirs. I can’t even change my profession. I am passing the day with great sadness.”
The District Commissioner of Gazipur agreed with the statement of the participants in the hearing and said that he has many responsibilities as a representative of the government in the district.
“Gazipur has undergone an economic transformation in the last thirty years. The reservoir flow that used to be in the canal bill is no longer there.
Through his limitations, he tried to arrest the guilty at various times by conducting mobile courts. A part of Mogarkhaal has private space. We could not open it,” the deputy commissioner added.
Quoting a media report, he said, ” Two hundred six ponds of the city corporation had become vacant. We have successfully restored eight ponds in that area.
I have the opportunity to enforce it, but I need the budget to sustain it. We are trying to restore all the ponds under a project by meeting with the Water Development Board.”
The district administration is dealing with thousands of issues. He called upon the public to take the responsibility of sustaining there. It is only possible to bring back the healthy environment of Gazipur with the involvement of people.
