Editorial
Saving city's lifelines
Wetlands must be protected here and now
The uncontrolled urban sprawl has already gobbled up the open spaces and the wetlands that once added to the beauty of the city and a breather for its inhabitants. It has also eaten up 47 canals that crisscrossed the length and breadth of city. As a consequence, we have now only 17 per cent of the metropolitan area as wetlands whereas in 1989 it was 29 per cent. And oddly enough, since 2000 when the Wetland Conservation Act was in place, the rate of decline in the wetlands has become even faster at 2000 hectares every year.
As a result of this loss of wetlands and destruction of the rivers surrounding the city, it is not only the ecological balance that has tilted precariously, the source of fresh surface water that replenishes the groundwater system is also dwindling very rapidly. And now that the city is dependent on the groundwater system for the supply of 87 per cent of its drinking water, one can easily visualise what is in store for its dwellers in the future, unless something is done immediately to arrest the destruction of the natural water bodies and marshlands still existing in and around the metropolitan area.
Considering the scale of devastation to its greenery and the natural watercourses that we have been witnessing since long, the prospect of Dhaka as a liveable city is also becoming bleaker day by day. But so far the authorities concerned have done precious little to put a brake on the disastrous trend.
The prime minister, the elected Members of Parliament (MPs), the relevant parliamentary bodies, even the judiciaries, the media and the civil society have expressed deep concern at the developments and directed all concerned to address the issue. But it all fell as if on deaf ears, while the wetlands continue to recede without letup.
Are we then to assume that the perpetrators of the damage are more powerful than the highly placed government people and the well-meaning quarters combined, or that there is no actual commitment on their part of those in authority to do the job?
In case they fail, the people will definitely lose whatever little confidence they still have in the system and its capability to govern, for fifty per cent of good governance consists in maintaining the trust of the people by doing things that need to be done. And anything to the contrary is tantamount to complete denudation of the authorities regarding its mandate to govern.
On this score, the attention is of necessity drawn to the capacity of the Rajdhani Unnayan Kprtripakkha (Rajuk), whose job it is to regulate the city's process of urbanisation. Unfortunately, its urban planning cells are conspicuous by the absence of qualified urban planners, geographers and environmentalists in them. The capacity of Rajuk and of other such bodies should therefore be reorganised and strengthened on an urgent basis.
In the circumstances, the government needs to put its foot down in the matter in order to maintain public confidence through protecting the city's environmental lifelines and keeping it liveable.
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