Lakes and trees in parks often miss the views of commuters in a city which is burgeoning with high-rise buildings, buzzing with growing population. The public suffering due to traffic congestion and futile talks of remedy have caused a loss of confidence that Dhaka could be made a beautiful city.
Jannatul Ferdous, who regularly commutes between Malibagh and her workplace at Karwan Bazar, is one of those who battle against dust. “I wear sunglasses and facemask, but still can feel the presence of dust everywhere. It’s impossible not to be drenched with dust and not to fall sick sometime living in such an atmosphere,” she said.
The dust in the air of Dhaka has posed a threat to the living and health of over 15 million residents of the capital. Dhaka has been ranked 23 among 1600 cities of 91 countries with worst urban air quality in the 2014 air pollution monitoring report of World Health Organisation (WHO).
Dust, with high concentrations of poisonous elements, is an integral part of this pollution. Environmental activists say dust pollution has already reached an alarming stage but there is hardly any initiative visible to address it.
Public suffering
Although dust pollution is not limited to any specific area, some areas are more affected than others. Hatkhola, Manik Mia Avenue, Tejgaon, Farmgate, Motijheel, Lalmatia, Rampura and Mohakhali are some of the worst affected areas. However, in recent years, the areas surrounding the under constructed Moghbazar-Mouchak flyover project are facing the worst of dust pollution.
During a visit to the nearby areas, including Siddheshwari, Moghbazar, Malibagh, Mouchackand and Banglamtor – a dismal scene of public suffering was seen. Most passersby and commuters wore face mask or covered their noses with their palms.
Residents complained that not only they are having physical problems because of dust, their living condition is severely affected as well. Keeping their houses clean has become an almost impossible task. Their utensils and furniture are getting rusty due to the constant exposure to dust.
Mohammad Hanif, who has a food cart beside Siddheshwari College, complained about difficulties of protecting his foods from dust. He also mentioned having breathing problems and irritation in his eyes.
Various small vendors in the areas near the flyover had to move their businesses elsewhere due to dust and non-availability of customers, he added.
Where does dust come from?
Dust is not only the flaky earthly substance, or dirt particles. There are many more elements that can be found in Dhaka’s air in dust form. Dhaka’s air contains smoke, soot, liquid chemical droplets and other miniscule particles that are so light that they float, creating a hazy form.
In Dhaka, dust originates from a variety of anthropogenic sources, such as brick kilns, open air industrial/household garbage burning, power plants, industrial processes, vehicles, fertilizer factories, sugar, paper, jute and textile mills, tanneries, garment, bread and biscuit factories, chemical and pharmaceutical industries, cement production and processing factories and other industrial settings inside or in the nearby areas of Dhaka. All of these sources produce enormous amount of smokes, fumes, gases and flakes which creates miniscule aerial particles we perceive as dust.
With rapid urbanisation, the demands of housing and other construction works are also increasing. A lot of old buildings are being demolished, and new buildings are being constructed all over the city. Demolition and construction of buildings produce a high amount of dust. During the construction of buildings, many house owners and concerned workers prefer to leave the raw materials like cement and sand uncovered on the open spaces near the construction site, which ultimately ends up being mixed in the air.
Various utility service departments such as Dhaka City Corporations (DCC), Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), Dhaka Water And Sewerage Authority (WASA), Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited (BTCL) and Titas Gas, conduct development works throughout the year which involves cutting and digging roads in rapid successions. As the surfaces of the roads and highways are disturbed so often, a lot of dust is produced as a result. During the construction of overbridges or flyovers, construction materials are often left exposed to open air, which adds up to the dust situation.
Another source of dust leads to the drains. The drains of the city often get clogged with thrown out garbage and other discarded materials. If not disposed properly in time, the liquid portion of the filth evaporates, and the left over blob eventually takes dust form.
Poison in the air
According to the Department of Environment (DoE), the density of airborne particulate matter (PM), or what we commonly perceive as dust, reaches 463 micrograms per cubic meter (mcm) in the city during the dry season (December-March) – which is the highest level in the world. WHO air quality guidelines (2005) stated the maximum acceptable PM level to be 20mcm; cities with 70mcm are considered highly polluted.
Airborne lead is the worst among all other PMs. The level of lead contamination in Dhaka air is alarmingly high. A study conducted by scientists of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) revealed that about 50 tons of lead are emitted to Dhaka city’s air annually and the emission reaches its highest level in dry season. The density of lead in the air of Dhaka city in dry season is, once again, the highest in the world.
According to the website of Air Quality Management Project (AQMP), poisonous carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, suspended particulate matter (PM-10) and particulate matter (PM-2.5) exist in Dhaka’s air beyond permissible level for human body.
In 2011, Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU) and the DoE started a three-year collaboration to find out the level of pollution in Dhaka air. The researchers measured the concentration of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, as well as small and large dust particles in the air, and was surprised by the high concentration of dust particles. During a 24-hour measurement of dust concentrations, researchers found values that exceeded three times the legal limit for air pollution in the United States and Bangladesh, and nearly five times the limit in the EU and Norway.
“We may have seen these kinds of results before – for example on an industrial site or near a desert where the wind blows the sand around – but not in a city with people”, NILU scientist Scott Randall said in 2011. However, he preferred a continuous monitoring system for more accuracy.
Health hazard
An estimated 15,000 deaths, as well as several million cases of pulmonary, respiratory and neurological illness occur every year due to the poor air quality of Dhaka, according to the Air Quality Management Project (AQMP), funded by the government and the World Bank.
People most at risk are children, the elderly, and people with respiratory or heart diseases, but people with regular health are not immune to the effects either. Starting from nasal and eye irritation, a long list of diseases, some fatal, can be attributed to dust pollution.
Dust particles are so small that they pass through the nasal passage and travel to the deepest parts of the lungs and cause damage. Toxic and cancer-causing chemicals are all too common to be found in dust form as well. Other probable diseases include-Breathing difficulties, respiratory and pulmonary diseases, diminished lung function, weakened immune systems, pneumonia, asthma, and emphysema , Heart attacks and strokes
“Cases of children suffering from bronchitis, asthma, allergies and chronic coughs have shot up in recent years,” said Dr Jebun Nahar, associate professor of pediatrics at BIRDEM.
Several research suggest long-term exposure to dust during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage or physical and/or mental anomalies of new born, she added.
Indifference
Not enough initiatives have been taken so far from the government’s part to prevent dust pollution, said Md Abdus Sobhan, executive general secretary of Poribesh Bachao Andolon (Poba).
He blamed lack of coherence such as coordination between different utility services for their unplanned development and digging works in the city. “We have often seen the same road is being dug up over and over again, by different utility services. Had the coordinated, they could have conduct their works at the same time, which in effect, would have lessen dust pollution by a great deal,” he said.
He also pointed out that any utility service have to take permission from the city corporation before starting any kind of construction or digging. Not only that, they are legally bound to fill up the disturbed place properly as soon as their work is done.
During any kind of construction – housing or road, construction materials are not supposed to be left exposed. Using water spray is another must-do during constriction works in order to control dust. The city corporation and DoE is in charge of monitoring whether these rules are being followed or not.
“In reality, we don’t see these rules or law being implemented or followed. Unfortunately, neither city corporation nor DoE is monitoring these digging works properly,” he added.
Coherence and coordination between the utility services is the first key to control dust pollution, he said. “One of the main reason why dust pollution got so bad is the utility services conducted their works without proper planning. If they plan thoroughly, not only a lot of money and time could be saved, but also the dust situation will not take a turn to worse,” he added.
However, the government alone cannot do this without the cooperation of Dhaka dwellers, Abdus Sobhan said. “The house owners should pay more attention to the factors that contribute to dust pollution. Using water spray or covering construction materials do not cost much, but can save a lot if done properly,” he said.
-Prothom Alo