Bangladesh is constituted by a large delta at the confluence of three major world rivers, the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, and

the Meghna. These three rivers originate outside Bangladesh and flow through China,Nepal and India before they enter Bangladesh and finally drain out into the Bay of Bengal. The physical setting of Bangladesh along with its monsoon climate means there is limited control and management of the inflow of water into the country. Although Bangladesh is predominantly a plain surface, it is criss-crossed by a very high density river system. This gives the country a riverine nature which is present in the life style, customs,economy and history of its people. All of these issues are fundamental to any discussion of the water sector, planning and policy decision making in Bangladesh. Proper maintenance of rivers is very important not just because of their crucial role in maintaining ecological balance, but because the very existence and future development of this new delta are dependent on the river system. Buriganga River, the main river around which the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka, was established, and the rationale for choosing it as a case study for my research. Bangladesh, which is followed by a discussion of the river system and the emerging threats to the rivers in Bangladesh.The Buriganga River has been selected as a case study for this research considering its enormous importance to the residents of Dhaka City. It also demonstrates the lack of a mechanism to incorporate the environment into decision-making which has resulted in significant environmental deterioration of the river. The old Dhaka, now the Capital of Bangladesh, was established as a provincial capital of the Mughal ruler on the north-eastern bank of the Buriganga River during1608-10, although the settlement is known to have been in existence since the 7thcentury as a small riverside township (Karim, 1991) (see Map 2.3). The Buriganga River attracted the Mughal rulers by offering good transportation and defense against enemies. Since then, Dhaka City has grown mainly on the northern and eastern banks of the Buriganga River until the 1960s, particularly because of the easy revering communication almost throughout the entire country . Dhaka City is now very densely populated and one of the ten Mega cities of the world. The population has grown very rapidly, giving rise to unplanned residential development and scattered slum areas. Between 1947 and 1971, the city grew from an area of 1,800 ha to 18,000 ha and, by 1991, the city boundary embraced an area of almost 26,500 ha (160 sq km). Dhakas population has grown from 4 million in 1980 to 6.5 million in 1990 and an estimated 10 million in 2001 (PC, 1998 and BBS, 2001). Most of this increase in population is caused by the in-migration of people from rural to urban areas. The current area of the Dhaka City Corporation is 360 sq km with a population of 5.38 million .

Buriganga River thus presents a huge environmental management problem, having environmental, economic, social, cultural and institutional dimensions. There are a large number of stakeholders, such as development agencies, industrial and business communities and a huge population on either side of the river, all of whom depend on the river for their livelihood. The Buriganga River system is located in the southern part of the North Central Region of Bangladesh, close to the confluence of the Padma (Ganges) and Upper Meghna Rivers (see Map 2.4). Hydrologically, the Buriganga River is not an isolated river many other rivers are connected with the Buriganga and influence its flow. It is hydrologically connected with Balu, Dhaleswari, Kaliganga, Karnatali, Shitalakhya, Tongi Khal and Turag. The surface water system of Dhaka, comprised of several depression storages (e.g. roads, lakes and submerged low-lying lands) and khals (canals), is linked to these surrounding rivers . The city rainfall is accumulated in the depression storage and discharges to the surrounding rivers through the khals. The monsoon flood in the periphery of the city is liable for the back water flow from these rivers. These rivers contribute to the groundwater recharge to the city aquifers. Therefore, the hydrology of Dhaka City is heavily influenced by the surrounding rivers. The influence of the Buriganga River on groundwater levels is an important component of the overall water balance of Dhaka City. The fact that, with comparable abstractions, piezometric decline is less in old Dhaka (close to the river) than in areas further from the river, such as Motijheel, indicates that much of the volume abstracted by tubewells close to the river originates from the Buriganga River (Shahabuddin, 1996). The ground water level of Dhaka City also exhibits large fluctuations between monsoon and dry seasons (ibid). Therefore, the distinct seasonal fluctuations of the water level in piezometers located near the river and the fact that there are almost no seasonal luctuations in central Dhaka City indicate that the Buriganga River system surrounding Dhaka City is a vital source of ground water. The Buriganga River encompasses the south-western periphery of Dhaka City (see Map 2.3). It originates from Dhaleswari from north of Dhaka and meets it again south of Dhaka City . Turag River falls into the Buriganga after Amin Bazar Bridge at Mirpur. The upstream of the Buriganga above the onfluence of Turag used to contribute substantially to the flow in the Buriganga River. In recent years, this portion of the river has silted up and during the lean period, the flow at Turag is the main source of discharge through the Buriganga. The Buriganga is a tributary to the Dhaleswari River, which, after the Old Brahmaputra River, is the largest river in the north Central Region of the country. The Shitalakhya (or Lakhya) River joins the Dhaleswari, 11 km downstream of the Buriganga confluence. The Dhaleswari drains into the Meghna River, just upstream of the Padma confluence.All these rivers except the Dhaleswari and Turag are very small. The upstream end of the Buriganga is 11 km down from the Mirpur Bridge and the downstream end is at Hariharpara. The total length of the Buriganga River is 17 km and its average width around Dhaka City is nearly 500 m. The average flow during the wet season (June to October) is about 700 cubic metres and during the dry season (November to May) about 140 cubic metres (Rahman and Rana, 1996). The Buriganga is fed mainly by the Turag River, which receives flows from local rainfall and spill flows from the left bank of the Jamuna River. The Shitalakhya River drains a large catchment lying between the central forested areas and the Old Brahmaputra. Additional inflows to the systemoriginate from

the Balu, which drains a small catchment to the west of the Shitalakhya, and from the Ichamati and Karnatali Rivers, which mainly carry spills from the Padma and Jamuna Rivers respectively (Kamal et al., 1999). Generally, the flow of the Buriganga River is non-tidal during the wetseason and tidal during the dry season. If the backwater effect is strong and upstream flow small, then sometimes in the wet season, the flow in the Buriganga becomes tidal. The tidal range, however, is not high; between 6.0 and 8.0 m. The drainage of the City mostly dependson the water levels of the peripheral rivers. The major drainage channels (locally known as khal) in the City are Dholai khal, Gerani khal, Segunbagicha khal and Begunbari khal, which collect catchment runoff as well as wastewater and drain to the peripheral rivers, mainly to the Buriganga. The

Sources of Pollution in the River

Understanding the pollution sources of the Buriganga River is very important. Instead of using expensive treatment techniques for the mprovement of the water quality and its overall health, the best option would be to cleanup the sources of pollution and prevent the river from becoming contaminated. The river is affected along its course by both point and non-point sources of pollution. These are discussed below 20. (a) Point Source River Pollution: Point source (PS) pollution comes from a number of discharges including domestic sewage, industrial facilities and mismanagement of solid waste. Major point source stressors or pollutants are as follows: Encroachment:The Buriganga River has been teadily shrinking and slowly dying due to actions from a number of influential quarters21engaged in encroaching and grabbing the river bit by bit. People have been grabbing the same river which has nourished their forefathers with its pure flowing waters and helped sustain life along its banks, provided protein to people, and drained outthe dirt of city life to rejuvenate it. Dumping of garbage along the bank, apparently to reclaim land, has been practiced over the years. A visit to the river-front shows how structures built on platforms have sprung up along the banks of the dying river (see Plate 2.3). To consolidate their holdings, encroachers resort to large scale and indiscriminate dumping of wastes and garbages for landfill. Solid Waste:Dhaka City suffers particularly from poor solid waste management practice. The Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) area, about 5.38 million people within an area of 360 sq km, generates about 3500 metrictons of solid waste per day (on an average 0.5 kg per person per day). Of this, 1800 tons are collected and dumped by the DCC, 900 tons go to backyard and land filling, 400 tons are on road side and open space, 300 tons are recycled by the rag pickers, and 100 tons are recycled at thegeneration point23. Although the DCC collects about 50 percent of the solid waste generated in Dhaka City, it does not have any sanitary landfill for ultimate disposal of solid waste. Solid wastes are basically dumped in the low-lying areas in and around Dhaka City and many are close to the river (e.g. Lalbagh, Mohammadpur, Aminbazar and Rayerbazar). A arge amount of leachate percolates through the surface and contaminates the ground water. In addition, the least expensive method of municipal solid waste disposal practiced among many residents is to place it on the streets. Part of this waste ultimately finds its way into the rivers through ainwater runoff (see Plate 2.4). The city is currently suffering from the effects of highly toxic clinical wastes from a number of pathology enters, hospitals and clinics. Over 500 clinics and hospitals dump around 50 tons of waste daily, 20 percent of which is infectious and hazardous24 .

Untreated Sewerage: According to the Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority27, the volume of waste being generated within Dhaka City is about 1,040,000 m3/day. Out of this, only 120,000 m3/day (11.54 percent) is under the scope of a modern treatment system. Only about 30 percent of the area and 20 percent of the population in Dhaka City are covered by these treatment facilities. Amongst the rest, 40 percent of the population employ their own treatment systems using septic tanks. Although a septic tank system is a type of sewerage treatment system, many septic tanks do not work properly due to lack of proper design and use. About 15 percent of the population, particularly slum-dwellers and lowincome households of Dhaka City, use pit-latrines. In total, about 75 percent of the population ofDhaka City have access to some types of sewerage treatment system. The remaining 25 percent do not use any sewerage treatment facility; they use either open latrinesor no latrines at all. A significant portion of the sewerage wastes of the people who use some types of latrine is being disposed either directly or indirectly through different canals and open and low-lying areas) to the Buriganga River. During the field visits, it was observed that many sewer lines in the city ended up in the river (see Plate 2.5). Hence even sewerage lines are being used for dumping solid waste into the river. Many industries and factories discharge effluents into drains and canals which subsequently find their way to the river. Sewer pipes are broken in many places, and thus solid wastes enter into the sewer lines. In many areas, surface drains are connected to the sewer lines for disposing of liquid wastes from septic tanks, although such drainage is supposed to drain only wastewaterfrom kitchens into the rivers and canals through low-lying areas. Untreated urban sewage discharge is considered to be another major cause of water pollution in the Buriganga River. The very low quality of the river water in turn contributes to poor hygiene along the river corridors and loss of biodiversity in the river itself. Industrial Pollution from Hazaribagh Tannery: The tannery is one of the most polluting industries in Bangladesh, although it is one of the major export earners. Leather and leather products rank fourth in earning foreign exchange and earned 27Personal communication with the US$1,583 million in 2001 (MOF, 2001). Out of 270 registered tanneries in the country, about 25028are located in a small area of 25 hectar es in the Hazaribagh in the heart of Dhaka City. Leather processing involves a series of chemical operations. Both chromium and vegetable tanning processes are used in the production process. In the tanneries, 85 per cent of the hides (mainly cow) are processed by the chromium tanning process, and the remaining 15 per cent (mainly goat hides) by the vegetable tanning process. Both these tanning processes generate large quantities of liquid and solid wastes, most of which directly or indirectly find their way to the Buriganga River (see Plate 2.6). According to the DOEestimate, more than 16,000 cubic metres of highly toxic waste from the Hazaribagh tanneries flowfirst to low-lying areas and then to the Buriganga River every day29. The wastewater is usually characterized by high pH, high suspended and dissolved solids, high BOD and COD, strong colour and potentially toxic compounds, such as chromium. Moreover, leather processing generates a significant quantity of solid wastes about 115 tons per day. Only part of it is disposed by the DCC and the remainder litters the Buriganga River and its surrounds. The disposal of solid wastes from the tanneries generally creates a problem because of the quantity and the composition (i.e. non-biodegradable and toxic compounds). This waste contains sulfuric acid, chromium, ammonium sulfate, ammoniumchloride and calcium oxides that may seep into the groundwater (Kazi, 1999). Also, odours produced by these chemicals and wastes affect the health of the people in the surrounding areas (see Plate 2.6). Previously, tannery effluents remained stagnant in the low lands inside the Dhaka Flood Protection Embankment. For the last four

years, the effluents have been released without any treatment through large underground pipes (sluice gate no. 7 and 8) into the Buriganga River. The sludge containing high levels of chromium is also being deposited on the riverbed and is polluting the water. During the field visit, the ffluents containing chemicals from the tanneries werefound to be gushing out of the pipes and creating white foam in the river water. The water of the river turns septic under the huge burden Terminal and Landing Stations: With more than a hundred launches arriving and a similar number leaving the Sadarghat Terminal on the bank of the Buriganga River every day, it is one of the busiest river ports in the country. Due to the lack of railways and the inadequate capacity of road communication between Dhaka and most parts of the southern region, people depend heavily on the river route through this terminal for passenger and cargo traffic. However, it lacks a proper waste disposal system. Shadarghat Terminal discharges much solid and petrochemical waste into the river. In addition, there are spills fromloading and unloading of house building materials such as cement, sand, rods and brickbats which are carried to many places along the river-bank (see Plate 2.7). The bank of the river near Amin Bazar (upstream of the Buriganga) has ow been turned intoa centre for making and grinding of pebbles and stone boulders. In many places along the river, solid waste and materials are seen to discharge directly into the river, particularly with rainwater run off (see Plate 2.7).