Published :
Updated :
For all latest news, follow The Financial Express Google News channel.
The natural environment of Chattogram is under hazardous threats due to the river pollution, uncontrolled hill and tree cutting, poor drainage and sewerage system, and discharging of clinical, industrial and household wastage everywhere.
Sources said that the water of the Bay of Bengal at the Chattogram port channel and Karnaphuli river was polluted due to the discharging of oil, wastage and other chemicals from the ships and tankers.
Secretary of Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) Omar Faruk said, "CPA is concerned over the water pollution here. The port authority has already taken some steps to keep the water of the Bay of Bengal and Karnaphuli river pollution-free."
According to the sources, some syndicates of dishonest people are involved in rampant hill cutting for commercial and non-commercial purposes in Chattogram. It causes serious ecological and environmental imbalance in the area. It is also a threat to the bio-diversity and natural beauty of this region. The rampant hill cutting is the major cause of frequent landslides here.
On the other hand, there is a lack of garbage management system for around 6 million dwellers of the port city. They are often seen throwing their household wastages here and there, including the cannels and drains of the city. It results poor sewerage and drainage system.
Three important canals- Nasir Khal, Bohadder Hat Khal and Hijra Khal- were damaged due to pollution and filled with mud, plastic and other garbage. The five-kilometre-long canal, Chaktai Khal, has already filled up with garbage. As a result, the rainwater usually overflows from the canal causing immense sufferings to more than 0.5 million residents from Bahadderhat to Chaktai areas.
Moreover, the clinical garbage also pollutes the city as there is hardly any management of clinical garbage for at least 200 hospitals and clinics in it. Throwing of the clinical wastages in open space poses serious health hazards for the people of the city.
According to the rule, the clinics and hospitals have to make their own plants to destroy their clinical wastage. But, the authorities of the clinics and hospitals failed to maintain the garbage plant.
However, Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) took several steps to keep the city clean from the medical waste. Mayor of CCC Alhaj Rejaul Karim Chowdhury has initiated a good number of programmes to make Chattogram a clean city. The mayor has started shifting the dustbins to certain places from the roadside areas. Besides, the city corporation staff members started collecting the household garbage from the houses in the port city.