Act fast to save Halda river

The Halda River Protection Committee has held some local industrial units responsible for the massive pollution of the river that led to death of fish of at least 18 species recently.

The factories set up in the area stretching from Kulgao to Oxygen were releasing waste into the river through Bamonshahi canal, Hathazari Picking Power Plant through Chankhali canal and Asian Paper Mills through Madari canal, the committee said at a press conference at Chittagong Press Club yesterday.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

Besides, some poultry farms built along the river were contributing to the pollution, said leaders of the committee.

They called upon the government to take action soon to save the Halda, the lone source of natural carp breeding in South Asia, from pollution.

Manzoorul Kibria, president of the committee and also a professor of zoology at Chittagong University, said some government organisations were trying to play down the pollution situation by preparing their respective reports.

In fact, the Halda never experienced such a massive pollution before, he told reporters. “Fish of at least 18 species died in the river on June 21 due to release of industrial waste.”

Manzoorul said they inspected the river area to conduct a study on the pollution. They found that the waste affected the riverbed mostly, causing deaths to hundreds of big fishes.

“We collected water samples from 11 points of the Halda and found the amount of dissolved oxygen in water to be very low. The amount of dissolved oxygen in the Halda water now ranges from 0.21 to 1.00 millilitres against the normal range of 5 millilitres,” he said.

The Halda River Protection Committee has made 11 recommendations to save the river from pollution. These include forcing factories to release waste through effluent treatment plants (ETPs), ensuring regular operation of ETPs, re-excavating Bamonshahi canal, declaring the Halda as ecologically endangered and declaring it as a national river.

Mohammed Ali, secretary of the Protection Committee, its adviser Shamsul Haque Haidori and member Amin Munna, among others, were present.