60pc of Dhaka dwellers defecate in open spaces

The urban sanitation system is about to collapse as about 60 per cent of the inhabitants of the capital defecate in open spaces, said sanitation specialist Professor M Mujibur Rahman on Friday.
‘There is hardly any hygienic sewerage system in the country’s cities and towns, including Dhaka. Many people pass their faeces in open spaces, including parks, footpaths and banks of the lakes and canals. On the other hand, the dwellers in many luxurious buildings discharge raw human excreta in those canals and lakes through pipes. Thus there is hardly any difference between them and those who excrete in the open spaces. Taking this scenario into consideration, we can say that about 60 per cent of the capital’s inhabitants release their excreta in open spaces in one way or other,’ said Professor Mujibur Rahman, also a teacher in the BUET. ‘Only 40 per cent of the people here use safe sanitary systems.’
The present sanitation management system, which covers 25 to 30 per cent of the capital, is about to collapse, he said. ‘The sanitation of other cities and major towns is also likely to collapse in the next five to ten years.’
‘We are polluting the rivers and canals by dumping human excreta and industrial waste into them. ‘We cannot afford to allow the waters of the Buriganga, Turag and Balu to become polluted. We have already killed the Buriganga by dumping sewage in it for the last 30 years. This is a grave offence. We must pay for it,’ he warned.
Professor Mujib made the above observations at a discussion with the media people. The discussion was a part of the national programme to observe the ‘National Sanitation Month’ [October] and the ‘International Sanitation Year 2008’. The National Sanitation Taskforce Media Committee [NSTMC] and the Forum of Environmental Journalists of Bangladesh jointly organised the discussion in collaboration with the Water and Sanitation Programme of the World Bank.
Mujib, also convenor of the NSTMC, claimed that they have apprised the government of the worsening sanitation situation. ‘We conveyed our concern to the highest authorities of the government, which includes ministers [of the past governments], advisers [of the incumbent government], secretaries and Dhaka WASA and DCC officials. But I do not see any move to save Dhaka’s sanitation system. Everyone has become apathetic although everything is happening in front of our eyes.’
Professor Mujib, however, claimed that open defecation in the country has decreased from 42 per cent in 2003 to 10 per cent in 2008, especially in the rural areas.
Fewer and fewer villagers defecate in open spaces in comparison with inhabitants of urban areas, he said.
He said there is also a discrepancy in the statistics on the area covered by the sanitation system as the definition of ‘sanitation’ varies. ‘The government is claiming that about 88 per cent of the people use sanitary latrines, but, according to the UNICEF, BRAC and NGO Forum, sanitation facilities are available only to 33 to 39 per cent of the people,’ he said.
He told the media that half of the septic tanks, both in rural and urban areas, are unhygienic.
About 12 million people live in Dhaka city, of whom only 30 per cent enjoy the benefit of the sewerage systems installed and maintained by the WASA in Dhaka.
The National Press Club’s president, Shaukat Mahmud, criticised the interim government for lack of commitment to improve the sewerage system.
He said politicians must include the goal of 100 per cent sanitation as an agendum in their manifestoes for the general elections due on December 18.
The deputy secretary to the Local Government Division, Shamsuddin Ahmed, admitted that a large number of day commuters and floating population in the major cities, especially in Dhaka, has posed a big challenge to sanitation across the country.
The NSTMC’s member-secretary and FEJB’s chairman Quamrul Islam Chowdhury moderated the discussion, and Abdul Motaleb and Shantanu Lahiri of the World Bank, Shirin Hossain and Quamrunnahar of the UNICEF, Milan Kanti Dev of BRAC, and about 10 journalists participated in the discussion, along with others.
They stressed the need to take urgent measures to provide hygienic and environment-friendly sanitary facilities for the floating, landless and homeless people, and also passengers of the land and riverine transport systems.
They also said that strengthening the local government system is also necessary for smooth implementation of sanitation programmes.