Five factories in Ashulia, Dhaka, were inspected on Tuesday as part of a government monitoring and enforcement drive aimed at curbing pollution in the Turag and Buriganga rivers.
During the inspections, the factories were instructed to ensure proper environmental management, including the operation of effluent treatment plants (ETPs), while samples of liquid effluent were collected for further analysis, said a press release on Wednesday.
Notices were also served on the establishments, directing them to ensure proper overall environmental management.
The inspection was conducted under a roster-based monitoring and enforcement programme in the Ashulia area along the Turag River.
The programme is being carried out under a sub-committee headed by the director general of the Department of Environment (DoE) to control pollution in the Turag and Buriganga rivers.
A central cell was formed on 18 August under the leadership of ABM Abdus Sattar, principal secretary to the prime minister, to protect the environment of rivers surrounding Dhaka.
The DoE-led sub-committee was subsequently formed under the central cell.
Under directives from the Prime Minister’s Office, the roster-based monitoring and enforcement activities will continue for a month to curb pollution in the two rivers.
Md Lutfor Rahman, director general of the DoE; Md Mahbub Jamil, director of Monitoring and Enforcement at the DoE; Ferdous Anwar, director of the DoE’s Dhaka regional office; Captain Md Golzar Hossain, a representative of the Bangladesh Navy; and Md Rezwan-Ul-Islam, executive magistrate of the DoE, were present during the inspection.
Representatives of the Bangladesh Coast Guard and the Naval Police also took part in the monitoring and enforcement activities.
