Most of the industries in Chittagong pose a serious threat to the environment as they release untreated solid and liquid waste into canals and rivers.
Environmentalists and green activists said most of the industries in the port city had not complied with the rules of installing and operating effluent treatment plants (ETPs).
Karnaphuli Paper Mills, the country’s largest state-owned paper manufacturer which has been in operation since 1953, has not yet set up an ETP.
Also, Chittagong Wasa, even after 51 years of operation, had not set up any sewage treatment plant. In the absence of such a plant, around 250 million litres of polluted water released by 5 million city dwellers find its way directly into rivers.
Factories like TSP Complex, Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Ltd and Eastern Refinery Ltd have been running without ETPs and are releasing untreated waste which eventually is mixed with water of the Karnaphuli River.
The Department of Environment says a total of 111 industrial units in Chittagong metropolitan area need to set up ETPs.
Of the 111 units, 93 have already installed ETPs. Also, 32 of the units belong to the “Red” category while 79 fall into “Orange Kha” category.
For the issuance of Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC), the industrial units and projects, in consideration of their sites and impact on the environment, have been classified into four categories: Green, Orange Ka, Orange Kha and Red.
“Most industries do not have waste treatment facilities. Also, industries having ETPs do not operate the plants in most cases. Due to heavy pollution caused by state-owned and private industrial units, the amount of dissolved oxygen is alarmingly decreasing in the Karnaphuli River,” Muhammad Edris Ali, associate professor of chemistry at Government Hazi Mohammad Mohsin College, told the Dhaka Tribune.
“Some 62 types of toxic chemicals, including cyanide, chromium, mercury, chlorine, and different types of acid, zinc, nickel, alkali, lead and cadmium, are dumped at the Karnaphuli River every day by around 700 small and medium factories built on both banks of the river,” said Ali, also the vice-president of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon.
He said the extent of pollution in the river is difficult to ascertain because of the strong current. “Every day, around 1500 tonnes of industrial and household waste is mixed with the water of the river.”
Manjurul Kibria, a researcher and associate professor of zoology at Chittagong University, said fish reproduction rates had drastically declined because untreated industrial waste is dumped at the Karnaphuli River.
“Some native fish species in the river have already disappeared while some others are on the verge of extinction due to untreated solid and liquid waste discharged by industrial units and households. This is a serious threat to the river’s aquatic ecosystem,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.
“I conducted a survey back in 2009 to ascertain the exact number of fish species available in the river, and found that 20-25 freshwater species and 10 brackish water species have already become extinct while the rest are also in peril.
“The river once had a lot of fishes. To be specific, there were a total of 140 fish species, including 66 freshwater species, 59 brackish water species and 15 species of migratory fish,” added Kibria. He also cautioned that many more species might go extinct if the industries do not set up ETPs.