Wed 4 Jul 2007
News From Dhaka.
Posted by Rumi under Bangladesh , Climate Change , Crisis Management , Environment , civil societySuddenly the water turns black and all the dead fishes, alligators and sharks start floating at the rivers adjacent to the Bay of Bengal in the Sundarbans (The last remaining unadulterated forest in Bangladesh). A commercial liner is reported to be in trouble nearby. Blogger AsifY posts a blog on this issue. Not a single reader takes part in the discussion, while hundreds of comments flood the posts on politics, the leaders and their sons. And nobody in Dhaka chattering class makes a single sound about it.
All the sewer wastes of 7 million Dhakaites are collected, processed in 16 large lagoons near Dhaka. Many years ago, some evil traders start raising fish in those sewer collecting depots. These fish are sold in Dhaka markets for years. Government decides to stop it. They poison the fishes and try to collect the dead fishes for burning. Suddenly thousands of local people storm the area, battle with the police, loot the fishes, and run back with the poisoned dead fishes grown in sewer lagoon.
Probably the cry of hunger was a little too intense.
While all these happen, the beastly cry at Dhaka zoo gets louder for a couple of days. As a result of some government bureaucratic entanglement, administrative inefficiency and extreme indifference to the core duty of the job, the animals of Dhaka zoo starve for 3 days. Apparently the budget to buy meat etc for the animal needed some signature at the secretariat. The agriculture advisor, upon hearing the story from media men, call in the zoo officials, some emergency fund is managed and several cows are collected from nearby Savar Dairy farm to feed the zoo animals. These animals would have fed themselves if they were allowed to live in their natural habitat. Now as their natural habitat has been destroyed and they are held captive, it is the responsibility of the captors to feed these animals.
And all these happen when this glowing Dhaka breaks into the list of top ten countries in high tech mobile phone sells.
July 4th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
Thank you Rumi for this apolitcal nice thread. I’m off from country for long years, so don’t know how Bangladesh looks like. The arial view of part the city looks magnificent. Where is the location and what are offices the buildings houses in?
Another scientific question. Ignoring the disgust feeling, is there any chemical difference between lagoon [dumped with human excreta] fish and the fish grown in other normal habitat?
Thanks.
July 4th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
This is the Sonargaon junction. The building at the center is the BSEC building that cauggt fire this february burning NTV, RTV and Amardesh.
July 4th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
With respect to # 1:
Fish from a polluted source affects human health when ingested. For instance, deep feeders like catfish (magoor) feed off in a dioxin, mercury, etc. enriched environment and hence are likely to contain an unhealthy level of these toxins for human ingestion. The heavier-than-water chemicals can be found at the bottom of many ponds and lakes because of relatively higher density.
Dioxin is a toxic left over from chemical fertilizer and village ponds are most likely to have an unhealthy concentration of it near the bottom. Mercury is a common ingredient of industrial waste that is frequently disposed off in BD rivers without effluent treatment.
While I do not know precisely what harmful ingredients are present in the lagoon under question, the point is that entry of harmful material in the food chain through fish or fowl affects humans as well.
July 5th, 2007 at 5:40 am
It’s a bit irrelevant here, but I would urge people to listen to this audio interview of Dr. Ainun Nishat on Dhaka’s water logging with VOA .
http://www.voanews.com/bangla/2007-07-02-voa5.cfm
July 5th, 2007 at 10:00 am
Does anyone know whether there are any initiatives taken to minimise the oil spill problem in Sundarbans?
It will affect ecology and livelihoods immensely (already affecting). There are ways to reduce the risk and i do hope the authorities know how to go about it. Is there any news report on what steps have been taken?
Shohana
July 5th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
Travelling for most of the past three weeks, I missed AsifY’s earlier post on Sundarban’s water being polluted. Now no food for the zoo animals? Not claiming to be a dedicated nature conservationist, I do consider myself as someone with above average passion for nature.. So the issue of the possibility of oil spill at the cost of the Sundarbans and the deadly affect it is due to have on the last frontier of our already exhausted natural assets, disturb me considerably.
If information of the oil spill is substantiated and if the Dhaka based DP members would like to meet the Environment Advisor specifically on the issue with factual data, I will be glad to try to do the necessary to secure an appointment with the Advisor for a patient hearing on the subject.
If someone out there is accepting my offer, please contact me at my e-mail through the administrator.
Cheers
July 5th, 2007 at 5:46 pm
Mr. sufibaba_1967: you may want to coordinate this with Bangladesh Poribesh Andalon (BAPA) if you want to join hands with like minded people with a view to creating greater impact.
BAPA has an office in Lalmatia. Economist Professor Muzaffar Ahmed is the BAPA president, though it will be easier to contact
the general secretary, Mr. Mohidul Khan; his e-mail is mohidk at gmail dot com. I am part of the Bangladesh Environment Network (BEN) and BAPA is our Bangladesh partner. You may mention me as the person who directed you to him.
July 5th, 2007 at 7:26 pm
sufibaba,
The need is to substantiate it first. So far, other than the two blogs I’ve quoted, there has been very little said on the subject. It seems that the media has not connected the dots between Mir Damad and the rivers turning black.
Remember that this is not just about conservation. People’s livelihoods depend on fishing, their health depends on the quality of the water. There is a human impact as well as an economic impact.
Re: #3, there’s a lot of dead-fishing going on in the slums around Gulshan lake, opposite BRAC university in Mohakhali. The lake is filthy and the fish die as a result. I’ve seen with my own eyes little boys half my age swimming out and bringing them in for their families. The sad part is that it’s probably their own waste that they throw into the lake. Vicious cycle, and yet another urgent call for better waste-management.
July 6th, 2007 at 10:32 am
Rumi, nice picture! Who took it?
Regarding the non-responsiveness of media, had it been a scintillating political or religious issue the media would have twisted and turned all corners. But who cares if the coastal ecology gets screwed up? People have simply no interest. Too sad.
July 6th, 2007 at 11:06 am
As mentioned by Asify and also noted on my previous post, the first goal should be to substantiate the info on the oil spill. I will ask around when I return to Dhaka.
Saleh Tanveer, I am aware of BAPA and know Mr. Muzaffar. While I appreciate the agenda of the platform, I am not convinced of the true agenda of some of the individuals involved in BAPA. As such I rather not contact them on the issue. The personnel at BAPA should have by now raised the issue with the Government, if their individual focus were sincerely environment..
I rather create an opportunity to ask the advisor on the issue upon returning home.
Will keep all interested posted.
Cheers
July 7th, 2007 at 11:17 pm
Rezwan
This picture is taken from wikipedia.
July 18th, 2007 at 8:13 pm
informed person(s) confirms that there was no oils spills in & around the Sundarbans.
Cheers
May 6th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Now I am staying In south Africa.
But I like my country.my country is
very beautiful.