Despite HC directives, why DOE, DCCs fail to check air pollution, curb dengue

The High Court has blasted the Department of Environment (DoE) and Dhaka city corporations for failing to prevent air pollution and dengue infection in and around the capital, despite its repeated directives.

The DoE officials gave permission to the illegal brick kiln owners to operate as the owners manage them.

They do not need fresh air because most of their children live abroad, and they have fresh air there.

Dhaka city corporations could not control dengue even though numerous people died from the disease and got infected.

The court ordered the DoE and the city corporations to comply with its previous directives on controlling air pollution in Dhaka within the next two weeks.

After filing the petition by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB), the HC in February 2021 ordered the Fire Service and Civil Defence to take necessary steps to spray water using its vehicles on roads at the entrances to the capital, including Gabotli, Jatrabari, Purbachal, Keraniganj, and Tongi, on an urgent basis. The fire service would do the job without compromising its main duty of dousing flames.

Poor air quality in Bangladesh cities often makes global headlines, thanks to fossil fuel combustion, biomass burning, emissions from unfit vehicles, brick kilns and massive development works.

In January 2020, the HC ordered the government to reduce air pollution in and around the capital and asked the DoE to shut illegal brick kilns in Dhaka and its four surrounding districts-Gazipur, Narayanganj, Munshiganj and Manikganj.

Although this court issued repeated directives, no effective steps were taken to control the air pollution in and around Dhaka.

We know the sources of air pollution and also the solutions.

What we need is a specific target and specific programmes to achieve it.

But it seems that we are walking in the opposite direction regarding curbing air pollution.