By IANS,
Dhaka : Bangladesh has formed a panel to save the river Buriganga, whose water has turned pitch black because of the dumping of millions of tonnes of human and industrial waste.
The 22-member committee will also study measures to reclaim riverbanks from encroachers, the New Age newspaper said Sunday. An estimated 16 million people live along the river’s coast.
Experts have identified nine industrial areas in and around Dhaka as the prime sources of river pollution. Most industrial units have no effluent treatment plants.
More than 60,000 cubic metres of toxic waste (textile dying, printing, washing and pharmaceuticals) enter the Dhaka canals and river system every day. Nearly four million people directly suffer the consequence of its poor water quality.
Industrial waste accounts for 60 percent of the total river pollution followed by municipal waste and improper handling of other pollutants, according to an official heading the committee.