The High Court has issued a three-point directive toward protecting residents of the capital from dust pollution.
The bench of Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam and Justice Mohammad Ali issued the directive on Thursday after hearing a supplementary application on a writ petition.
The High Court also ordered the implementation of the directives within a month of receiving them and submission of a report in the form of an affidavit.
The Director General of the Fire Service and Civil Defense Department of Dhaka has been directed to take necessary measures to splash water at various points, including Gabtali, Jatrabari, Purbachal, Keraniganj and Tongi to minimize dust pollution.
At the same time, the two city corporations in Dhaka have been instructed to spray water on the streets to ensure that dust and dirt accumulating around small trees on the sides of the road are cleaned.
The managing director of Dhaka Wasa has been directed to supply water to the two city corporations of Dhaka in case of water shortage in the process.
Lawyer Manzil Morshed appeared before the court to speak for the petition. On the other hand, lawyer Amatul Karim stood for the Department of Environment.
Saeed Ahmed Raja was the lawyer for Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and Tawfiq Enam for Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), while Deputy Attorney General ABM Abdullah Al Mahmoud Bashar represented the state.
Manzil Morshed said the High Court had issued a nine-point directive in January 2020 regarding the prevention of air pollution in and around the capital city. Later in February 2020, when action was taken, air pollution was reduced to some extent.
“The amount of dust and sand in the air increases in winter. However, air pollution has been low in the last few months due to the Covid-19 situation. Pollution has increased again as the situation has returned to normal. Recently, Dhaka rose to being number one in the world in terms of air pollution”, he added.
Lawyer Manzil mentioned that there were various limitations in the implementation of the 9-point directive of the High Court.
“The city corporation said it was not possible to spray water at the entrances of Dhaka as the number of water-spraying vehicles was comparatively few,” he said.
As a result, the petitioner filed a supplementary petition on Thursday seeking five more directives to stop air pollution in Dhaka city and its surrounding areas. The court issued instructions on three issues, the lawyer said.
The supplementary petition also directed the Cabinet secretary and the Public Administration secretary to immediately appoint magistrates as per demand of the Cabinet secretary, Dhaka city corporations and Environment Department to monitor and control the activities of the defendants in implementing the High Court's directive to stop air pollution.
