Encroachment, pollution threaten Kirtankhola

The Kirtankhola River near Barishal city faces severe threats from encroachment and pollution.

A recent study by the Center for River and Delta Researchers identified it as one of the country's 56 most polluted rivers, with the highest number of illegal occupants, exceeding 4,000.

Despite local environmentalists urging action against pollution and encroachment, authorities have remained silent. The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), responsible for protecting the river, has acknowledged squatters since 2015 but has not taken significant action to remove them. Their pollution control efforts have also been ineffective.

Water quality testing in Kirtankhola was halted for nearly a year due to a personnel shortage, with recent tests showing pH levels above the acceptable range, indicating pollution. During the monsoon season, water quality improves, but it deteriorates in winter.

Gholam Kibria, Senior Chemist at the Barishal Environment Department, argues that these results do not officially classify as pollution.
However, Kibria conceded that during the monsoon season when the river overflows, the sampled water tends to be free from contaminants. Tragically, Kirtankhola's water quality typically deteriorates during the winter season.

One concerning revelation is that within the city corporation area, all sewage systems are interconnected with the canals flowing through the city, which ultimately empty into Kirtankhola. This means that waste from factories, households, and plastic waste is all funneled into the beleaguered river. Additionally, large pharmaceutical and cement manufacturing companies, power generation plants, and numerous other factories, including those producing animal feed, have sprung up along Kirtankhola's banks.

Shockingly, it is alleged that waste from five pharmaceutical and cement factories is directly dumped into the river, despite the Department of Environment's pressure on these establishments to install effluent treatment plants (ETPs). These ETPs seem to function only when senior officials from the Department of Environment or related agencies are scheduled to visit, highlighting a disturbing lack of ongoing oversight.
In response to these concerns, HM Rashed, Deputy Director of the Environment Department, has announced plans to install CCTV cameras in industrial facilities with ETPs, enabling remote monitoring from the department's office.

The BIWTA legally designates a foreshore along the river, but unclear boundaries have allowed illegal structures to proliferate, with over 4,000 identified in 2015. An eviction drive in 2016 ended violently.

Barishal River Port Officer Abdur Razzak has indicated a forthcoming major development project at the Barishal River Port, funded by the World Bank. As part of this project, 167 illegal occupants within the main port area have been asked to vacate with compensation, although no decisions have been made regarding the other occupants along Kirtankhola's banks.

Kazi Enayet Hossain Shiplu, member secretary of Barishal Nadi-Khal Chao Movement, paints a bleak picture of Kirtankhola's future, lamenting that organizations, including the River Commission, have released figures on occupiers but have refrained from disclosing names. With each change of political leadership, the number of encroachers appears to swell.

Rafiqul Alam, Barishal coordinator of Bangladesh Environment Movement, reveals a troubling aspect of the situation, stating that influential politicians and businessmen are among the encroachers, shielding their identities. “If this alarming trajectory persists, Kirtankhola's fate may tragically mirror that of the Buriganga River.” He added.