Does the Department of Environment exist in name only? Precious public funds are being spent to run the entity, but it is not taking any visible step to reduce Dhaka’s air pollution facing the city dwellers. It followed no High Court directives in this regard. It is no surprise that the HC, a couple of days ago, rebuked and expressed severe annoyance at this entity. Right, the negligence of the department is ‘killing’ the people of the city. Everyday newspapers publish news of how people are being affected by the city’s air pollution.
Reportedly, the air quality in Dhaka’s Shahbagh area is the worst, while Gulshan-2 has the worst level of noise pollution in the capital. A new study revealed that the Jatiya Sangsad area is the least polluted in terms of both air quality and sound level. The scenario came to the fore in a recent study on Dhaka’s air and noise pollution. Noise and air pollution are claiming lives. Children are getting sick, medical expenses are on the rise, and nature is losing its balance.
The annual average particulate matter (PM) 2.5 in Dhaka is 5.1 times higher than the national standard level, while the yearly average PM 10 is two times higher. In Shahbagh, the average PM 2.5 was 85 micrograms per cubic metre, 5.6 times higher than the standard level; even the least polluted spot measured 70.
Rights groups asked for increasing the environmental ministry’s budget and finalising the Clean Air Act 2019, making the public aware of the noise pollution policy, monitoring noise pollution regularly, and implementing High Court directives to prevent air pollution.
Making this historical city livable is everyone’s duty. However, besides the DoE, the city corporations also could not escape their responsibilities as they allow realtors, transport owners and other quarters to pollute the city. Shouldering responsibilities on government or city authority could not protect from the position of pollution. So, taking precautionary steps, preventing pollution in individual and social levels, planting trees, behaving like responsible consumers and reducing carbon footprint by using environmentally friendly methods may reduce pollution.
Bureaucrats quite often, in their arrogance for power, do not follow the court order. Hence political parties as well as general residents of the city must raise huge hue and cry so that the government takes urgent action to curb air pollution.