HC orders removal of plastic waste from Buriganga banks within 15 days

The High Court (HC) has directed the removal of all types of waste including plastic accumulated on the banks of the Buriganga river in the Islam Bagh area of Lalbagh and Kamrangirchar of Dhaka within the next 15 days. At the same time, the concerned authorities have been asked to submit a report to the court within four weeks after implementation of the directive.

The High Court bench of Justice Ahmed Sohel and Justice S M Iftekhar Uddin Mahmud passed this order after hearing a writ filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) on Wednesday (September 2).

In the court’s directive, the secretaries of the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Director General of the Department of Environment, the Chairman of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), the Managing Director of Dhaka WASA, the Deputy Commissioner of Dhaka, the Officers-in-Charge of Lalbagh and Kamrangirchar police stations and the Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police among 13 concerned persons have been asked to ensure the removal of the waste.

It was said in the writ petition that the High Court had given several directives in 2010 to stop the pollution of Buriganga. Among these, throwing plastic and other waste on the banks of the river was prohibited. But even after that directive of the court, hundreds of plastic and other garbage are being thrown on the banks of the river in the Islam Bagh area.

It was further said in the petition that if waste continues to be thrown in this way, those will fall into the river at one stage. Alongside the water of Buriganga becoming more polluted due to this, the implementation of the previous directives of the court to prevent river pollution may also be hindered.

Senior lawyer Advocate Manzil Morshed conducted the hearing on behalf of the writ. Lawyers Sanjoy Mandal and Nasrin Sultana assisted him. Deputy Attorney General Khan Ziaur Rahman was on the state side.

Manzil Morshed said the pollution of Buriganga is having a severe impact on the environment of Dhaka. Despite the previous directive of the court, a huge amount of plastic and other waste has been thrown and kept on the banks of the river in the Islam Bagh area, which may finally fall into the river and increase the pollution further.

Mohammad Sarwar Ahad Chowdhury filed the writ petition on behalf of HRPB on August 30.