Dhaka's Four Rivers Under Pollution Pressure, Tk 184 Crore Drone-Surveillance Project Proposed for the Turag
The four rivers around the capital — the Buriganga, Balu, Shitalakshya and Turag — have long been under pressure from pollution, encroachment and unplanned urbanisation. Untreated industrial waste, household sewage, plastic and solid waste are damaging the water quality and aquatic environment of the rivers; in places the colour and quality of the water have deteriorated, and in others accumulated waste is disrupting the rivers' natural environment.
Cleanup drives, monitoring and restoration projects have been taken up at different times to control the pollution, but a lasting solution remains a major challenge. In this situation, a project proposal costing Tk 184 crore, including a plan to use drones to monitor pollution in the Turag river, is set to be placed before the ECNEC. Alongside it, the need is growing for integrated management to stop pollution at source, treat industrial waste and restore the natural flow of the four rivers.
The Buriganga was once a vital part of Dhaka's trade, river transport and daily life. Now blackish water, stench and waste along different stretches of the river paint the picture of its pollution. Alongside industrial waste, household sewage, plastic and other solid waste flow into the river every day.
Even after the tanneries were moved out of Hazaribagh, pollution in the Buriganga has not fully declined. The sources are not limited to a single industry; untreated sewage, discharges from various industrial establishments and the habit of dumping waste on the riverbanks have kept the situation complicated. So alongside cleaning the river and removing waste from its bed, stopping pollution at source is essential — without treating industrial and household waste and ending solid-waste dumping on the banks, cleanup drives cannot deliver lasting results.
The Balu is an important waterway in the capital's eastern area. Settlements, urbanisation and waste from various sources around it are increasing the environmental pressure on the river, which is closely tied to drainage, aquatic habitats and the environment of the surrounding areas. For the Balu, keeping the river's natural flow, connecting canals and drainage system working is as necessary as controlling pollution.
Alongside regular monitoring to prevent bank encroachment, waste dumping and unplanned development, waste management at the local level must be strengthened. If the natural flow of rivers and canals is obstructed in the monsoon, the risk of waterlogging in surrounding areas can also rise — a familiar experience for residents of the Balu basin.
The Shitalakshya is extremely important for Narayanganj and the surrounding industrial belt. The river is closely linked to factories, river transport and various economic activities. But when waste from those activities is not properly treated, it puts pressure on the water quality and aquatic environment of the river.
To control pollution in the Shitalakshya, factory effluent treatment plants must be kept effective, discharged water quality tested regularly, and action taken against establishments that break the rules. It is not enough for a treatment plant to exist on paper — whether it actually runs regularly must also be verified, and that monitoring gap is in many cases the biggest obstacle to reducing pollution.
For the Turag, the government has now moved to build a technology-based monitoring system. A project proposal costing Tk 184 crore with World Bank financing is planned to be placed for approval at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC). The Department of Environment will implement the project, with a proposed term from 1 July 2026 to 31 December 2028.
Under the project, drones will monitor waste dumping on the riverbanks, identify pollution sources and high-risk areas, and prepare lists of factories violating environmental rules. Regular supervision, drives, notices and fines for lawbreakers are also part of the plan.
The project will also work to ensure the effectiveness of effluent treatment plants at 173 identified factories on the Turag banks. An online system providing instant information will be installed to monitor the quality of water discharged by industrial establishments. There are also plans for boat patrols to clean the riverbed and to collect and analyse water samples at least 36 times during the project.
Upgrading the Environment Ministry's 333-4 helpline into an integrated complaint management system, assessing the potential to cut carbon emissions, and giving 'Green Star Ratings' to environmentally friendly industrial establishments are also in the plan. The aim is not only to monitor pollution in the Turag; the wider goal is to reduce the dumping of solid waste and polluted water from homes and factories into the rivers, canals and lakes of the Dhaka metropolitan area. If approved, the project will open a new chapter of technology-based monitoring in the fight to save Dhaka's four rivers — though the truth remains that without stopping pollution at source, no amount of monitoring will be enough.
