Desperate Urbanization

As we celebrate 400 years of Dhaka City, the River Buriganga, that has played a vital role in its growth is fighting to survive. Today, it is being choked to death, extremely fragile and is unable to run its natural course. Insensitive people of Dhaka are killing the river. Dhaka’s population is growing day by day. The Buriganga River is the one of the most popular way of commuting to other parts of the country and the river is used by millions everyday to transport numerous goods. Various factories and industries are still being set up along the river. Chemicals discharged by tanneries, sewage and industrial waste are also dumped directly into Buriganga River. Nearly 700 brickfields on the riverside, dockyards and used engine oil from boats and steamers add to this pollution. This 41 km long river that flows through Dhaka once blessed us with hopes and dreams of building a new city. But today, the city itself is the cause of death of Buriganga. We, the citizens of Dhaka, are destroying our own river. I spent most of my life in and around it and have a close relationship with it. As a documentary photographer my role was to engage with my city and show the river and its rapidly changing landscape from every possible angle. Sadly, the river seems set to disappear carrying away with it our dream of a sustainable universe. I wish the fresh water flowing into the river and measures enforced to stem the pollution will rejuvenate it and bring with it a new wave of hope for the future of Dhaka and its people.