There has been extensive research, reporting, and discussion on the pollution of the rivers surrounding the capital.
But a recent survey by the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) has made one important point clear: the discussion on river pollution is no longer a matter of speculation or allegation—the sources of pollution have also been identified.
A total of 424 direct waste discharge points have been identified along the rivers surrounding the capital. Of these, Dhaka WASA, as a single government agency, accounts for the highest number—66 discharge points.
In other words, the problem is not confined to industrial facilities; it is directly linked to the basic infrastructure of urban management.
The significance of this information is profound. For a long time, industrial waste has dominated discussions on river pollution. But the latest survey shows that an inadequate sewage and drainage system is equally responsible.
In most areas of the capital, there is no separate drainage system for stormwater and sewage. As a result, household waste, human waste, and rainwater flow through the same drainage network and ultimately end up in the rivers.
This is not merely an engineering limitation—it reflects a long-standing failure of urban planning. Experts have long emphasized that separate sanitary and stormwater networks are among the essential requirements of a modern city.
Bangladesh has yet to establish this basic principle. Although a large-scale sewage treatment plant has been built at Dasherkandi at considerable cost, most of the capital’s sewer lines are still not connected to it.
As a result, infrastructure that is supposed to protect the rivers is not even being used to its full capacity.
Under these circumstances, placing the entire blame for river pollution on WASA will not solve the problem. The BIWTA survey itself found that 244 waste discharge points operated by private entities and industrial facilities are regularly releasing untreated waste into the rivers.
Drainage systems operated by various city corporations, municipalities, union councils, and other government agencies are also sources of pollution. In other words, the rivers around the capital are victims of a multifaceted administrative failure.
The responsibility, therefore, must be shared, and the solution must also be coordinated.
Dhaka WASA has disagreed with the survey findings and identified the industrial sector as the principal source of pollution. But a dispute over data is not a solution to the problem.
What is needed is an independent, joint technical verification, with the findings made publicly available. On an issue of such vital public interest as river pollution, it is not enough for an agency merely to defend itself. What is required is verifiable data and meaningful progress.
The government has decided to form an inter-agency coordination committee to protect the rivers around the capital. This is a positive initiative. However, past experience tells us that the effectiveness of such a committee is more important than its formation.
Specific information must be published at regular intervals: how many waste discharge points each agency has closed, how many illegal connections have been disconnected, how much of the sewage network has been connected to treatment plants, and how much the quality of river water has improved. Plans without accountability remain confined to paper.
There can be no leniency when it comes to ensuring that industrial effluent treatment plants remain operational. Environmental laws must apply equally to everyone.
Whether the polluter is a government agency or a private organization, equally strict action must be taken against anyone who pollutes the rivers. It is also time to put the “polluter pays” principle into practice by assessing the economic cost of environmental damage.
There is no need for any new theory to restore the rivers around the capital. What is needed is practical action to address the problems that have already been identified.
When the sources of pollution are known, technological solutions are available, and the responsible agencies have been identified, there is no justification for further delay. The first condition for protecting the rivers is not another new promise, but the proper fulfilment of existing responsibilities.