Bangladesh's rivers are changing, and so are the people around them
If these waterways continue to fade, the loss will not be environmental alone. It will also be social, cultural and deeply human
For more than 30 years, Suruj Mia has watched the Buriganga from the seat of his wooden boat.
He remembers a river of strong currents and abundant fish, where the water remained alive even during the dry season. Today, he rows through blackened water as crows circle overhead and untreated waste pours into the river from the banks.
"Earlier, the water used to flow strongly even during the dry season; now it feels like the river is choking," he said.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
The Buriganga's story is increasingly becoming Bangladesh's story.
For generations, rivers shaped life in Bangladesh. They carried trade, provided food, connected communities and influenced culture. Children learned to swim in them, fishermen built livelihoods around them, and towns and cities flourished along their banks.
Today, however, many of those rivers are shrinking, polluted or losing their ecological balance under the pressures of rapid urbanisation, industrial waste, climate change and encroachment.
And as the waterways change, the communities built around them are being forced to change as well.
Like Suruj, many older residents share similar memories. They remember a time when the Buriganga's water was clear enough for bathing and fishing. Archival photographs from the 1960s and 1970s show steamers crossing a broad, vibrant river while children played along its banks.
Today, that same river often carries the stench of toxic chemicals, sewage and rotting waste. Yet despite its deteriorating condition, children can still be seen playing and bathing in the polluted water.
Environmental studies have repeatedly identified untreated industrial discharge, household waste and illegal encroachment as major threats to the Buriganga. During the dry season, reduced upstream flow limits the river's ability to flush out pollutants, leaving stretches of the waterway nearly lifeless.
Livelihoods under pressure
For fishing communities, the changes have been particularly severe.
Many families who once depended entirely on river fish have abandoned the profession or shifted to day labour, transport work and small businesses.
Mohammad Alim, a former fisherman from Kamrangirchar, said fish catches have declined dramatically over the past decade.
"We can barely catch fish from this river anymore. The river is now heavily populated by sucker catfish, which are not typically considered edible or viable for the fish market," he said.
Some days, he added, the fuel needed to operate a boat costs more than the value of the day's catch.
"Young people don't want to continue this trade. It feels unbelievable now, but during our youth, this river provided enough fish for us to earn a happy livelihood."
The story extends far beyond the Buriganga.
Across Bangladesh, rivers are changing and the communities built around them are changing too. Traditional boat makers receive fewer orders, small fish markets struggle to survive, and riverbank settlements face increasing threats from erosion, flooding and environmental degradation.
Pollution and climate stress
Experts say pollution and climate-related pressures are accelerating the transformation.
Dr Moniruzzaman, a professor at the Department of Geography and Environment at Jagannath University, said untreated industrial waste from tanneries and factories, combined with sewage and household waste, has significantly reduced oxygen levels in river water.
As a result, aquatic life has declined sharply. Fish populations that once supported local livelihoods have either disappeared or become unsafe to consume.
In heavily polluted stretches of the Buriganga, pollution-tolerant invasive species such as sucker catfish are increasingly replacing native fish, according to him.
He also noted that irregular rainfall, rising temperatures and changing river-flow patterns are altering the ecological balance of rivers across the country.
"If river pollution continues to worsen, the canals connected to these rivers will also be severely affected," he said.
For riverside communities, the consequences are becoming part of daily life.
Some families store drinking water because nearby groundwater has become contaminated. Others keep windows closed during low tide to avoid the foul smell rising from the river.
Children growing up along the Buriganga today are inheriting a relationship with the river that is fundamentally different from that of their parents.
Yet despite its declining condition, the Buriganga remains essential to the city's functioning.
Thousands still rely on it every day, including launch workers, hawkers, transport operators and informal labourers. At dawn, launches continue to crowd Sadarghat, carrying passengers from riverine districts as they have for decades.
The river also remains a place of recreation and social life. Families spend evenings on boats, traders move goods through its waterways, and during the monsoon, river breezes continue to offer relief from the city's heat.
But the resilience of those who depend on the river comes at a cost.
Public health experts have long warned that polluted rivers increase the risks of waterborne diseases, skin infections and exposure to harmful contaminants.
During the dry season especially, the Buriganga's darkened waters reflect not only environmental neglect but also the unequal burden borne by communities living closest to the pollution.
Environmental activists and urban planners argue that restoring rivers such as the Buriganga requires more than occasional cleanup drives. They call for stricter enforcement against industrial dumping, restoration of natural river flow, removal of illegal encroachments and recognition of rivers as living ecological systems rather than drainage channels.
Although various restoration initiatives have been undertaken over the years, many residents say meaningful change remains slow.
Bangladesh has long been defined by its rivers. Long before modern roads and concrete cities emerged, they shaped the country's geography, economy and culture. If these waterways continue to fade, the loss will not be environmental alone. It will also be social, cultural and deeply human.
For communities along the Buriganga and countless other rivers across the country, the reality is already clear; when a river changes, the people around it must change too.
