Clean up Buriganga in 15 days: HC

The High Court on Wednesday directed the authorities concerned to remove all plastic and other waste dumped along the banks of the Buriganga River in Dhaka’s Islambagh, Lalbagh and Kamrangirchar areas within 15 days.

The court also ordered the authorities to submit a compliance report within four weeks.

The HC bench of Justice Ahmed Sohel and Justice SM Iftekhar Uddin Mahamud passed the order after hearing a petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB), reportrs media.

According to the report, plastic waste and other garbage continued to be dumped along the Buriganga riverbank in Islambagh despite a 2010 High Court directive ordering authorities to take measures to prevent pollution of the river.

The 2010 judgment, issued in response to an HRPB writ petition, included a specific prohibition on dumping plastic and other waste along the riverbank.

During Thursday’s hearing, Senior Advocate Manzill Murshid, appearing for HRPB, told the court that pollution of the Buriganga was seriously affecting Dhaka’s environment.

The court directed the Director General of the Department of Environment, the chairman of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), the Dhaka deputy commissioner, and the officers-in-charge of Lalbagh and Kamrangirchar police stations to ensure that the waste is removed within the stipulated 15 days.

The respondents in the case include the secretaries of the shipping and home ministries, managing director of Dhaka WASA, commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police and deputy commissioner of Dhaka.

HRPB filed the application on August 30, with Mohammad Sarwar Ahad Chowdhury submitting it on behalf of the organisation.

Manzill Murshid appeared for the petitioner, assisted by Advocates Sanjoy Mondal and Nasrin Sultana. Deputy Attorney General Khan Ziaur Rahman represented the state.