How the dying Turag keeps delivering for Dhaka

Md Rana, helmsman of a bulkhead vessel, was resting near Aminbazar Landing Station on the bank, where two of Dhaka's main rivers — Turag and Buriganga — merge. On the other side of the river is the Gabtoli Landing Station. 

Hundreds of labourers were unloading the bulkhead full of cement sacks. 

"I carried 9,000 sacks [450 tonnes according to his estimate] of cement today," Rana said. "Imagine how many trucks you would need to carry all these sacks?" 

Rana was right. If Dhaka was not blessed with its circular rivers, it would have been a supply chain nightmare requiring hundreds of trucks traversing through the city every day. 

From Shah, Akij, and Premium to Scan and Aman — most cement companies have their stations here, along with other areas around the Turag River. 

File photo of Turag River. Photo: Syed Zakir Hussain

"We carry goods through the Turag to various ghats [quay] like this. Once we directly used to go to Gazipur. That channel no longer exists. The Turag is dying," Rana added. 

Most rivers in Bangladesh have good flow during Monsoon. The water in Turag too was flowing well, like a healthy river. But the current flow is all but a facade. In a month or two, the river will be all but a pool of black water. 

"The High Court declared the Turag River a living entity. However, given how this river is being treated, even saying that 'we are collectively killing it' would be an understatement," said Mohammad Azaz, chairman of the River and Delta Research Centre (RDRC).

And yet, the river keeps delivering. From cement, coal, sand, fertiliser, to stones, all sorts of construction goods are carried to Dhaka and neighbouring areas through the Turag. 

Photo: Syed Zakir Hussain

Akij, for example, brings around 40,000 cement bags every month, said its station-in-charge, Waheduzzaman.

"From here, the cement goes to Dhaka city, Manikganj and other areas," he said. 

Shah Cement supplies around 4,500 cement bags [around 200 tonnes] every day through this station, while Premium Cement transports around 200 tonnes a day from its Munshiganj factory. 

A 'multipurpose' river's sad tale 

"Buriganga is okay but go to Ashulia and follow the Turag; the river is in a precarious state," Sultan, a local resident in Aminbazar, told TBS. 

River expert Azaz explained further. 

"Buriganga now has two purposes: carrying passengers and goods. But the Turag has many more purposes. There are cement factories and ready-made garment factories along the bank of the Turag. There has been industrialisation on a large scale too. Housing construction has also taken place by encroaching the river," he said. 

This river has significantly shrunk over the years, thanks to encroachment and waste accumulation, as industries and residents use the river as a dumping station. 

In many places including Gabtoli, Nawaberbagh, Bisil, Mirpur and onwards, the river has been wounded in a myriad ways. 

Photo: Syed Zakir Hussain

Despite being given the status of a "legal person" by the High Court in 2019, the years that followed were not kind to the Turag. 

Factories have kept dumping toxic liquid waste into the river, as well as nearby canals and marshes in Gazipur. 

In 2023, Bangladesh River Foundation and Bangladesh River Travelers Network identified 96 locations where waste is polluting a 40-kilometre stretch of the river, from Tongi in Gazipur to the Kodda area of Dhaka city. 

Wounded, but still holding on 

Mashruk, manager of Palak Traders, a coal dealer, was monitoring work on the river bank. 

He said the coal from here goes to North Bengal, Manikganj, Aricha, Tangail and many other places, to be used in brickfields and boilers for battery factories. 

Mashruk said he has witnessed firsthand how the Turag, the supply chain pillar for his business, was being damaged. 

"There are marked areas for rivers, but people do not respect that. Many people encroach the areas in collaboration with the authorities," Mashruk said. "Now the water is clean but come three months later and the water will be black and full of stench." 

Shahara Enterprise's proprietor Mohammad Mohsin said they brought in almost two lakh tonnes of coal last year.

"During the dry season, our ship struggles to navigate," Mohsin said. "Without the river, we couldn't conduct business here. There's no way we could transport this volume of goods by truck. We're talking about 100,000 to 200,000 tonnes — how many years do you think it would take to move that by road? And it's not just me; other companies here handle similar quantities of coal, sand, fertiliser etc.

"If I bring in 200,000 tonnes, others are doing the same. You could never move this much by truck. Our rivers are our lifeline," Mohsin added. 

On both sides of the river in Gabtoli, there are almost equal numbers of business entities. Hundreds of workers were seen unloading pebbles, coal, sand, etc. 

As the welcome breeze on a heated noon flowed by, Al Amin, an employee at the landing station there, said, "You won't be able to stand here because of the stench a few months later." 

Protecting the ecosystem 

Mohammad Azaz of RDRC said that the largest ecosystem of the Turag River is its wetlands, but these are now being lost. 

He said around 69 fishing villages on the bank of the Turag have been marginalised because of pollution as they were left unemployed for eight months. 

"Rizwana Apa [the environment adviser] said restoring Buriganga would be difficult, but I think restoring Turag would be even more difficult. And without restoring Turag, you cannot restore Buriganga," Azaz said. 

"Since the Turag was declared a living entity, the case has gained global attention. However, I don't think anyone is willing to take on the challenge. Among the rivers around Dhaka, the government is prioritising the Shitalakshya, but I believe the focus should be on the Turag. 

"Given its importance for global accountability and the development of western Dhaka, the Turag should be the priority," Azaz added.