High Court: Shut sewerage lines connected to Buriganga
The court also asked Wasa to submit a progress report on the matter by January 8 next year
The High Court on Sunday asked the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) to shut all sewerage lines connected to the Buriganga river within the next six months.
The court also asked the organisation to submit a progress report on the matter by January 8 next year.
Justice Gobinda Chandra Tagore and Justice Mohammad Ullah passed the order in response to a time-extension petition filed by the Wasa.
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Earlier the same day, Dhaka Wasa's Managing Director Taqsem A Khan offered an unconditional apology to the court for making an untrue statement about sewerage lines connected to the Buriganga on June 18.
The court, however, said it will decide on accepting the apology after the Wasa properly implements the task.
The High Court also asked the Department of Environment to shut down industries built on the banks of Buriganga without clearance and the industries polluting the river by dumping waste, within the next one month.
The department was also directed to submit a comprehensive list of industries that fall under the criteria.
The court then set January 8 for the next hearing. Advocate Umme Salma represented the Wasa, while Advocate Amatul Karim stood for the Department of Environment.
On June 18 this year, the Wasa managing director submitted a report to the High Court stating that there are no sewerage lines connected to the Buriganga.
However, on December 2, he submitted another report to the court stating that there are 67 drains and sewerage lines connected to the river, and 16 of those belong to the Wasa.
The court expressed disappointment over the submission of two contradictory reports by the Wasa.
In response, the Dhaka Wasa withdrew its report submitted on December 2 and submitted an explanation on Saturday.
Upon a writ petition filed by the Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, the High Court in 2011 ordered the authorities to remove all establishments built up illegally on the Buriganga banks.
The court also ordered the authorities to stop dumping all types of waste to keep the water pollution-free.
