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COX'S BAZAR, Oct 12: A large hill has been created from heaps of garbage on the Bankkhali riverbank, dumped by the Cox's Bazar municipality authorities, creating environmental hazards.
As garbage is dumped directly near the waterbody instead of being disposed of properly, it clearly manifests inadequate waste management by the municipality authorities.
This mountain of waste poses significant risks, including the contamination of soil and water, the release of toxic gases, and the creation of breeding grounds for pests.
As the garbage dumping has continued for more than two decades, the place has now become widely known as 'garbage hill'. People now call the hill about 50 feet high 'garbage hill'.
Mosquitoes, crows, dogs and insects rule the place all day long. The buzzing noises of mosquitoes and flies and the pungent smell have made it difficult for the people residing around to survive.
According to locals, along with the garbage from several hundred households in Cox's Bazar town, different kinds of waste from at least 500 hotels, motels and 15-20 government and private hospitals are also dumped in this so-called garbage mountain.
The garbage constantly dumped pollutes water of the Bankkhali River. This polluted water is having a serious impact on the sea, water and biodiversity. In this way, the Cox's Bazar municipality is also polluting the sea water.
From the garbage mountain that has been created over a long period of time, a very noxious smell spreads throughout the town. Especially the residents of Ward No. 3 of the city are constantly suffering the most.
Apart from this, a large number of people who gather in the morning and evening in the Khurushkul Notun Bridge area adjacent to the garbage mountain are also forced to endure the unpleasant environment.
Local resident Sayed Alam said, "Although Cox's Bazar is the country's main tourist city, today the people of this city are unable to survive the stench of garbage."
College student Saiful Adar said, "I myself am a permanent resident of this area. We have been living a miserable life due to the stench of garbage for a long time. We have organised various programs with the locals to get rid of this situation, but there has been no response from the authorities."
Local environmentalists say that the bridge area gets poisoned with the stench of garbage. There are many educational institutions here, apart from the hundreds of years old Badramokam Mosque. Mosque devotees and students have to worship and study here with cloths pressed on their noses and faces. Local social worker Adnan Saud said, "The Cox's Bazar municipality authorities have arranged land for a garbage depot outside the city, but for unknown reasons, they have not implemented it for years. Our demand is to the interim government to quickly remove the mountain of garbage from such a busy area of the city and the riverbank."
The municipal authorities have not been able to build a dumper station for garbage even in three decades. HM Faridul Alam Shaheen, member secretary of the Cox's Bazar district branch of the environmental organization Dharitree Raksha Amara (Dhara), said that more than 97 tonnes of waste is generated in the city every day. Of this, 70 tonnes of waste is being dumped in the Kasturaghat area of the river. The remaining waste is going into the sea. After dumping garbage for several years, a 45-50-foot-high mountain of waste has now been created on the riverbank in Kasturaghat area.
The municipal authorities are still dumping garbage there, ignoring the instructions of the High Court. There is no designated place for dumping garbage anywhere in the city.
Municipality Administrator Nizam Uddin Ahmed said that preparations are underway to build a dumping station for garbage near the city. The place was also decided long ago. But for various reasons, it is not being implemented.
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