The Department of Environment (DoE) yesterday fined four textile and washing factories in Keraniganj Tk 31.60 lakh in total for releasing untreated liquid waste into the river Buriganga.
A DoE team led by Director (monitoring and enforcement) Munir Chowdhury, along with Rab-2 members raided Bilashi Textile Mill, Global Washing, Eden Trade and Minto Dyeing in Keraniganj on the west side of the Buriganga, said DoE officials.
The team found that all the four factories discharge toxic waste into the river.
Bilashi Textile Mill has an Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) but that is not functioning properly. The three other factories have no ETPs.
Also, none of the factories obtained any environmental clearance certificate.
The team asked Bilashi Textile Mill to run the ETP effectively by July 15 and directed the three other factories to relocate within the next 30 days.
The washing factory on the bank of the Buriganga has no place to set up an ETP and the owners also do not have the financial ability or expertise to run them, said an official of the DoE.
The DoE in February 2010 filed a case against the factories for environment pollution under Bangladesh Environment Protection Act. But their production did not stop, nor did the pollution, he added.
Source: The Daily Star
