Committed to PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO KNOW Vol. 5 Num 981 Sun. March 04, 2007       Star City Buriganga, Our Dying Lifeline With over 5,000 tonnes of untreated and highly toxic liquid and solid wastes contaminating its water everyday, the river Buriganga has turned into a stagnant sewerage. The toxic wastes have wiped out all aquatic lives from the river. The repeated toxic onslaught on the life line of Dhaka has contaminated the ground water and the agricultural land around it. Due to lack of flow in the water during the lean period the wastes are accumulating at an alarming rate. The water is thick and resembles discarded engine oil, emitting an unbearable stench. During eight months of the year the Buriganga is cut off from its source, the Jamuna river in the upstream near Manikganj. A project to open up the Bangshi river to revive the four rivers around the city is now gathering dust with the Water Development Board. Text by: Morshed Ali Khan . PHOTO: SK Enamul Haq