Senior Reporter: The buildings in the elite areas of the capital that do not have septic tanks, if not built within the next six months, legal action will be taken, warned the mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation. Atiqul Islam.
He said this while inspecting sewage disposal activities in Gulshan and Banani areas of the capital on Tuesday.
Atiqul Islam told reporters that he visited 21 buildings and did not find septic tanks in any of the houses.
“Most of the buildings in elite areas like Gulshan, Banani and Baridhara do not have effective septic tanks and soak wells. As a result, untreated sewage falls directly into drains or canals, polluting the environment. ”
Atiqul Islam said modern septic tanks and soak wells should be installed in the houses and a purification systems should be kept in operation.
“These works have to be completed within the next six months. Then we will go out on expeditions. If a septic tank is not found in any house, necessary action will be taken according to the existing law. ”
Earlier on October 16, Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh said at a function that 95 percent of Dhaka city houses do not have septic tanks. And 99.99 percent of the houses do not have to soak well. Homeowners need to be encouraged to take steps to ensure this.
Dhaka North City Corporation had earlier issued a notice in January this year giving time till March 31 to install septic tanks and sock wells as per government rules.
It was said that the sewerage lines of many houses and establishments have been directly connected to various stormwater drains, canals, lakes, and reservoirs of the DNCC without following the rules, which is a punishable offense under the Local Government Act 2009.
According to a research report by the Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP) in 2019, 1.5 million cubic meters of sewage is generated in Dhaka every day, of which 20 percent remains at the source. And only 40,000 cubic meters goes to the mad sewage treatment plant. The remaining 11 lakh 70 thousand cubic meters of waste is discharged untreated and going to the river.
If the river pollution is not stopped in this way, it will not be possible for WASA to supply clean and safe water to Dhaka even after spending crores of rupees, the report said.
