Sluggish pace in development projects
Highlights pollution among concerning subjects.
Dhaka tops the cities very polluted
Causing its copybook severely blotted.
Two reports on air and sound did tremendous damage to Bangladesh reputation. Particularly at a moment when Bangladesh is witnessing infrastructure boom.
Swiss company IQAir found in its report that Bangladeshi air is most polluted (76.9 micrograms of nefarious particles per cubic meter) in the world.Harmful substances in the air of Bangladesh surpasse WHO set threshold ( 5 micrograms per cubic meter). Clearly a concern that requires serious attention. Dhaka is ranked second after Delhi among the most air-polluted cities1.
However, Dhaka tops the list of most noisiest cities in the world.United Nations Environment Program in a report claims that, in 2021, it recorded 119 decibels noise intensity in Dhaka.Much higher than WHO standard(55 decibels for residential area and 70 decibels for traffic and business area)2.
The rising pollution has a price.Dhaka is paying it heavily.More and more Dhaka dwellers fall victims of Dhaka's falling air quality. Directorate General Of Health Services (DGHS) that keeps a tab on outbreak of asthma,pneumonia, diarrhea etc has noticed a sharp rise in the number of Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) patients in recent years. According to a Dhaka Tribune report,in 2015-16,there were 18,791 new patients of ARI. In 2018-19, the number rose to 20,446 new cases. And in 2019-20,it reached 111,7373.
Not only the air.Dhaka's water also gets polluted.Last month Dhaka has witnessed an unusual outbreak of diarrhea that has never been seen in 60 years. In ICDDRB hospital, more than 1000 patients admitted to hospital daily in the month of March. Earlier, on average 500 patients were admitted.In the Summer when temperature shoots to around 40° Celsius, aggravation of diarrhea is a common feature. ICDDRB doctors point to polluted water and roadside food taking behavior for the recent bout of diarrhea4.
The three crucial news reports may seem unrelated. Land,air and water of Dhaka get polluted because of the unplanned development works and urbanization.As more and more people flocked to the capital city that has flood proof embankment in search of opportunity, Dhaka is becoming unlivable and a nightmare. Pollution causes more patients,more spending on health expenditure, loss of working hours and less participation in economic activities. Since my childhood, I have been suffering from bronchitis. I have to spend minimum TK 160 on medication every month. Those suffer from kidney dysfunction have to spend more than TK 5000 on medication and treatments. Many of the ingredients to make medicine and medical services are subsidized. This gives an idea how national wealth and resources are taking a toll due to pollution.
Those doing the development works have little concern to public health and future generation. As Dhaka offers the best services of the country, parents thought it is the best place to groom their future generation. And many kids are growing up with dysfunctional lungs, hearing loss and other complications. Not all loss can be recuperated. Lost adolescence, youth cannot be brought back. Lack of sanitary precautions, unhealthy living and lack of foresight in conceiving development projects are contributing to undermine our own future.Pity that these words fall into deaf ears. I hope I maybe wrong.
Notes And References:
1 “Bangladesh Worst In The World In Terms Of Air Pollution: Report” ,bdnews24,March22,2022. For more read at https://m.bdnews24.com/en/detail/environment/2033999
2 “Dhaka Is The Noisiest City In The World: Un Report”,bdnews24.com,March27,2022. For more read at https://m.bdnews24.com/en/detail/environment/2036885
3“Respiratory And Infectious Diseases Soar In Bangladesh”,Kamrul Hasan,Dhaka Tribune,April 02,2020. For more read at https://archive.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2020/04/02/respiratory-and-infectious-diseases-soar-in-the-country
4“Diarrhea: Bangladesh E Jeshob Karone Ebar Onno Bochhorer Tulonae Agey Bhagey Ei Rogti Beshi Hocchey(Diarrhea: Reasons Behind Early Epidemic This Year)”,Shahnaz Parvin,BBC Bangla,April 01,2022. For more read at https://www.bbc.com/bengali/news-60947460
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