Rivers – The Neglected Lifeblood of Bangladesh

1. Rivers – The Neglected Lifeblood of Bangladesh

Faizul Khan Tanim writes on the urgency to understand the nature of rivers for sustaining our livelihood

2. Riverine Bangladesh

Author / Source : Saquib Chowdhury

3. Against the Current

Author / Source : Saba El Kabir with Mizanur Rahman Khan

A river may be mighty, medium or very small in terms of size but in that particular area, the river controls the environment and ecosystem and plays a very significant part in the area’s sustenance.

Therefore, what needs to be understood is that river maybe one word, but it does not describe all the rivers through this single language unit.

Each river should be handled separately, and experts believe that only recently we have become alarmed by situations like erosion, encroachment, pollution and more and are starting to look into immediate steps that must be undertaken to save the rivers.

In an interview with river expert and vice chancellor of BRAC University Dr Ainun Nishat, we got to know of the problems and possible solutions. Following are some of his thoughts.

For each of the rivers, be it big or small, we must understand their individual problems and these will depend on the inhabitants directly living on that river. A man living near the bank of river Padma, Janjira or Bhagyakul will be scared of erosion.

If someone is living on Buriganga and Sitalakhya, his main concern will be encroachment and pollution as there is no safe drinking water from these rivers. If the person is a navigation engineer, depth or flow of the river is his concern, if he is an irrigation man, he will be worried about the level of water. Similarly, a biologist or ecologist will be worried about the biological health, quantity and quality of the river.

For example if the mouth of a distributory gets closed by siltation which happened to rivers like Dhaleshwari, Kaliganga (rivers which come out of the Jamuna system), then it is a problem. Previously, they used to have high flow round the year but now their offtake is closed, and they hardly get any flow during the dry and winter months and only in the monsoon they get substantial amount of flow.

The mouth of Gorai river, a principal distributory of the Ganges, has been silted up but that is not the only natural reason. The flow of the Ganges goes down to a very low level due to human interference and that is another major problem. If we want to keep the mouths of rivers like Arial Kha, Gorai and Dhaleshwari open, possibly we will have to go for engineering measures so that the main flow (from where the distributory takes off) should always have a deep channel in the entry point.

There should be principles followed on the use of rivers. In Bangladesh, rivers are seen more as threats than as friends due to the occurrence of natural calamities like floods and other problems.

When the population was low, the villages were built on mounds and the flood plains were used to cultivate deep-water varieties of rice which could grow in water and that river was also the habitat for fish. That is how the food consumption pattern of the country took shape - rice, fish and lentil, which again used to grow in the dry months.

But with the increase in population, the deep-water variety of rice was no longer the solution for feeding the teeming millions. Now, during the winter months, the fallow lands are converted into rice fields by introducing Boro rice. This was due to the rivers being managed differently. In the summer and monsoon, the worry was that there should not be any floods, so dikes were built which resulted in the separation of the flood plain from the river network.

Therefore the ecology, fisheries, navigation, groundwater recharge process, silt deposition - these all suffered but rice production went up because from deep-water varieties of rice we went for Aman varieties and during the winter those fallow lands where lentils grew, were converted into agricultural lands and for that water is pumped out from the wetlands and the rivers resulting in Boro growing (from almost six million metric tonnes from the mid-forties, we are now producing 30 plus million metric tonnes). But in the process, the natural condition of the rivers are severely disturbed and disrupted.

In monsoon, we try to confine the flow within the river and as a result the flood plains have become dry lands. As a result, the risks have gone up as whenever the dikes fail, the land goes under water and the preparedness to live in that kind of immersion is gone because now we have opted for a crop that cannot withstand the submergence, so inundation has been turned into flood.

And again, in the dry months we are pumping water from the river making the rivers dry out and complain that the rivers are drying up. They are not drying up naturally although there are disturbances in the river basins but these man-made problems are turning into bigger disasters.

In the issue of withdrawal of flow, the upstream countries are usually not considerate about the requirements of the downstream countries, which is very common.

Therefore, this issue has to be solved politically or bilaterally and cannot be solved technically.

River bank erosion is hardly a new problem. Alluvial rivers are bound to erode but if we look at history, we see that even 200 or 300 years back, the local communities used to manage and maintain the rivers in their areas. They used to excavate the rivers manually by regularly using bunds for flood management.

They used to manage the bunds regularly, observe them and repair them routinely through that community. It was a community-driven activity and we completely lost that technique and leave everything to the state. These communities are neither empowered and nor do they have interest in the process and now lots of complaints come up.

Even 100 years back, in the Brahmaputra, we used to do bundling, a technique by which with bamboo poles and mattress, we managed the erosion process of the river. These are like bottom-open drains. The bamboo poles were put at an angle to the flow and cover the upper part with the bamboo mattress resulting in water being forced to flow through the bottom opening and in the process, carry the sediments and develop a big channel and that is the way the navigation of Brahmaputra was maintained.

Nowadays we do dredging, which can be classified into two parts - capital and maintenance dredging. Maintenance dredging is all right near a port or human settlement - the river may have a deep channel but after few years it may develop a shallow channel or sandbar. If it is a port, then we cannot shift it which would have been ideal because the deep channel has moved either upstream or downstream at a certain location. Since we cannot shift the port, we have to go for maintenance dredging so that the deep channel is maintained.

Now, if we look at history, the ghats in Bahadurabad were shifted four to five kilometres regularly depending on the upstream and downstream and location of the deep channel.

This year, we saw at Aricha that they had to do dredging, which is normal, but if they had the option of shifting the ghat four to five kilometres downstream, there was no need of dredging.

On the other hand, the rivers may have to be cleared up at certain points by capital dredging and it should be linked up with River Training Works otherwise the river would not only be filled up but could be very difficult to sustain the volume that has been dredged and could be filled up again.

We see rivers as a channel through which water is flowing but there is more to it. And of course to maintain a river we must pay attention to three important attributes – 1) It carries a discharge and water flow, 2) It also carries a sediment load and there has to be a balance between the sediment load and the discharge because to carry the sediment, the stream must have certain energy and that energy is provided by the flow or discharge. When the flow goes down, the sediment carrying capacity goes down or when the discharge goes up, its capacity to carry sediments go up as well and in that case if there is not sufficient sediments then it has to pick up deposits either from the bed or the bank and this dynamics has to be understood. Finally the third attribute is that although the river is an inert thing itself, it is a form of life as it carries life and sustains life by carrying fish, turtles, crabs, various insects, worms, microbes, planktons, flora, fauna and more. So a river must be thought of carrying not only water and sediment, but life as well.

Every year World Rivers Days is celebrated and this year various countries are organizing photographic exhibition of life around and in the river and how human life is interlinked with river life. In a number of small cities in Canada, this is the time when Salmons migrate and they observe it carefully taking thousands of their citizens and young children to the river banks and showing them how the river and fish life cycles are related. In our case, knowledge is very limited.

It is only very recently that the spawning system of the Halda has caught our attention but do we know the same thing about Brahmaputra or the wetlands and the beels and haors?

It is high time we carry out systematic observation on the ecological system of the river and we also need to understand the economics of managing of the rivers in scientific ways because it is extremely urgent.

The effects of global warming and pollution has profound impacts on our rivers and vary from the submergence of low-lying areas up to an almost obliteration of living in and around rivers.

In an interview with Weekend Independent the director of climate change study division of the centre for environmental and geographic information services (CEGIS- a public trust under the ministry of Water Resources), Malik Fida A Khan, mentioned the indicators which show abnormalities and effects of global warming.

The predictions we do on the effects of global warming are based on different models. Following these models, we see that the upstream or peak flow of the river which diminishes or increases and the duration of the hydrological period – wet and dry periods which might increase or decrease. These are some of the few impacts on rivers. And once these flow changes, the disasters related to water take place like floods or droughts.

According to the national water management plan 2001 (NWMP) by the ministry of Water Resources, main river flooding may increase in duration and flash flooding will tend to be more frequent, as also will cyclones.

Another factor is that when peak discharge increases, bank erosion might take place according to a recent CEGIS survey and research.

During the dry periods, if the river flow decreases, salinity intrusion increases in the coastal areas specifically.

There are some key measurements called water-quality indicators to observe the purity of water.

Dissolved oxygen (DO)

The DO test measures the amount of oxygen dissolved in the water. The decomposition of leaf litter, grass clippings, sewage, and runoff from feedlots decreases DO readings. Decreased DO can be harmful to fish and other aquatic organisms. Dissolved oxygen is measured in milligrams per liter (mg/L). When expected levels are 4.0 to 12.0 mg/L, it is said that Buriganga's DO is almost nil.

Heavy Metal concentration

Industrial effluents are major sources of heavy metals such as lead and mercury, and aquatic environments are extremely sensitive to even the smallest concentrations of these materials. Arsenic is also a common example of heavy metals, but other similar substances and compounds can also have significant effects on an aquatic community.

Turbidity

The amount of suspended material in water can be measured by collecting the solids or assessing the relative light transmission of the suspension. The increased opaqueness is caused by increased sediment which negatively affects many aquatic organisms. Both algal production and fish reproduction and feeding can become diminished and some organisms, like shell-fish (continual filter-feeders) can become choked by sediment and eventually die in heavily turbid waters.

Living Organisms

In another process, a certain amount of river water is retrieved to measure the amount of fish, crabs, organisms and other bacteria present in the water. If the amounts are below the expected level, it means the water is extremely polluted. For example, Buriganga.

pH

pH is a unit that expresses the strength of a solution based on its acidic or basic properties. Aquatic organisms can only function in a particular range of pH, and become forced to relocate when the surrounding water changes. Pollution from burning fossil fuels increases the amounts of sulphur and nitrogen oxides introduced into the water, thereby increasing the overall acidity.

Other direct and indirect indicators include the availability of dolphins who do not survive other than in good quality water.

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Riverine Bangladesh

Author / Source : Saquib Chowdhury

Bangladesh has been heavily nurtured by and identified with its rivers, which has become a major part of the land’s ancient civilization and culture. The beauty of a landscape seems quite incomplete without the flowing presence of the river. The rivers here in Bangladesh are symbolic in terms of literature and poetry, and prove to be an inspiration for artists and musicians. The mysterious beauty of the constant flow, the breathtaking view during sunrise as well as sunset and the pure peace that a sight of a river brings are incomparable and evoke a feeling of exuberance.

Bangladesh has been identified as a land of rivers and these rivers have been a not only a source of additional beauty to the natural landscape, but also a source of the livelihood of the people, whose survival and lifestyle depend on the river.

The topic of river pollution was recently discussed with Shafiuddin Sarker, the Chairman of the Research and Study Cell, Institution of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh. He has been involved with the institution for quite a long time, and his vast expertise includes the Bangladesh river systems. According to Sarker, the major rivers are Jamuna, Padma, Meghna, Buriganga, Turag, Tongi Khal, the Balu River and the Sitalakhya. He stated that although a lot of rivers flow in from India and Burma, the rest of the rivers in Bangladesh are generated inland. He emphasized the importance of rivers as they affect the temperature of the weather and help maintain a good environment. They contribute towards crop cultivation and the growth of trees. People use river water for drinking and bathing purposes, for their livestock, fishing and of course, a major source of transport. He remembers witnessing villagers fishing extensively for clams, mussels and oysters, and how the situation has drastically changed now. When asked about the changes that took place in the last few decades, Sarker recalls that from 1960 onwards, there was a sudden deterioration, due to the sudden rise in population. “There was shortage of food, and more food needed to be grown. Hence the demand for more agricultural land increased and this resulted in the drying up of rivers for land usage”. Sarker mentioned places such as Rajshahi, Jessore , Faridpur, Pabna and Sirajganj as examples of some the affected areas as far as rivers are concerned. “The last 20 years saw not only the rapid increase in population, but also the rise in industries. The chemical wastes going into the rivers contaminate the waters to a high level” he said. As far as the overall purity levels of the rivers here in Bangladesh are concerned, he said that it is quite low. “Alongside the rise of industries near the river waters and the chemical and toxic wastes going into the water, the purity of the water has certainly been deteriorating as the water is exploited by ignorant people, who use it for sewage purposes and bathing. Many who are bathing in these waters carry diseases and infections, and these are being spread through the waters, heavily affecting the purity”

The impact of river pollution spreads throughout. Sarker mentioned that due to the deteriorating state of the rivers, the water is no longer safe to drink. He mentioned that there are hardly any fish in the rivers of Dhaka. “I remember being in the village, and witnessing hundreds of river dolphins frolicking in the waters. But now due to the reduction of their food supply and pollution, such sights are rare” But the most disturbing statement came when he said, “Due to sheer ignorance and exploitation of the river waters, I fear that there may be a rise in types of bacteria, and it can be so dangerous and devastating that the diseases from it might not find a cure in the near future”. When asked about what steps can be taken to reduce river pollution, Sarker stated, “Septic tanks are a must. There should be a septic tank in all homes, even in the villages. As far as industries are concerned, effluent water treatment plants should be made mandatory, and awareness needs to be increased that our rivers are heavily being affected.”

Alongside the area surrounded by negativity and harmful impacts of river pollution, there is also another risk, and that is river erosion. According to Sarker, the main reason for river erosion in Bangladesh is the soil condition, as it is mostly sandy and not cohesive. When asked about the impact of river erosion, he stated, “It destroys homes and agricultural land, and hence leaves people in a state of complete poverty” But Sarker also mentioned that steps can be taken, although it, might take a while. Regular maintenance, more consultation and discussion on climate change issues should be undertaken, and according to Sarker, loop cutting, not to be confused with river dredging, can be applied to straighten up the river to reduce and prevent the impacts. Planting more trees can certainly help, but Sarker says, “Due to the continuous population growth, I am doubtful if that will take place anytime soon”.

Some rivers, whose tide once flowed endlessly, have now turned into stagnant pools, and some riverbeds have turned into plough lands. It is ironic because Bangladesh has been exhibited and portrayed as the land of rivers. When asked the question “Can Bangladesh still be called the land of rivers, and is there any hope”? Sarker answered, “During the 1960s, in 10 years, an average of 5 rivers were either destroyed or heavily affected. Now, in 10 years, 8 rivers are affected and destroyed. Yes, Bangladesh can still be called the land of rivers, but if the current scenario continues, it can only be called so for the next 25 years”.

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Against the Current

Author / Source : Saba El Kabir with Mizanur Rahman Khan

The reports coming in over the last few weeks from the media paint a grim picture of the condition of our rivers. In particular, the plight of our waterways has received some serious airtime and column space recently. Headlines scream of river channels silting up, our dredging fleet seems completely inadequate, dredgers bought for Tk 200 crore that refuse to function, ferries frequently running aground on treacherous shoals, routes multiplying in length due to the formation of sandbanks on busy channels and even ‘traffic jams’ of ferries on waterways. Someone on TV commented that the situation should offer some solace to those commuting by land: with the hazards of the roads and highways as real as ever, at least now they will not have to feel like they are the only ones suffering. She was perhaps only half joking.

River management, especially in a riverine country, is a vast and complex topic and represents many major challenges to be overcome. Yet, the key issue that confronts us today is very particular: our waterways are fast losing navigability. The 52 major rivers and their roughly 700 main tributaries that course through Bangladesh have given us around 24,000 km of waterways. Of that however, only 6000 km is navigable today, a number which shrinks to 3800 km in dry seasons. Of course, we did not lose around 18,000 km of our waterways overnight. The first instance of the loss of channel navigability in an independent Bangladesh was recorded in 1976. By 1977, we had lost 216 km of waterways and by 1978, a further 21 kilometers.

Siltation on the riverbed of alluvial rivers, and the formation of sandbanks and shoals, is part of a natural process, but this shifting topography of rivers must be managed to ensure river transportation. Rivers also have the tendency to undo human modifications, meaning that for it to be effective, river management activities must be continuous. Yet unfortunately, although we have seen a continuous outflow of funds, it has not gone hand in hand with continuous improvement, or even stabilization, of the situation. The immediate past government spent around Tk 100 crore on dredging, with little result. According to reports, the current government has spent around Tk 125 crore on renting dredgers, dredging, and work planning to date. Yet, in the last two years, 407 km of waterways and 12 inland river terminals had to be closed.

When Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan was asked if our waterways were suffering from a “navigability crisis” earlier in the year during a parliamentary meeting, he deadpanned, “Yes, with the exception of some of Bangladesh’s waterways such as Dhaka-Chandpur-Chittagong, Chandpur-Narayanganj-Bhoirob, Narayananj-Mirkadim and Barishal-Patharhata, no other waterways can carry vessels with draft greater than 12 to 13 feet. That means 90 per cent of all our waterways have lost navigability.” When the question was raised as to the reason behind the state of affairs he said, “The waterways have closed up due to the lack of necessary dredging”. And his solution? “Extensive dredging will be undertaken to improve navigability of the dead and near dead rivers.”

The Awami League government had of course announced plans for massive dredging projects in January 2010, almost immediately after taking office. Speaking in the parliament, Water Resources Minister Ramesh Chandra Sen spoke of the government’s intention to dredge up 310 rivers of the country. He outlined four massive dredging and river management projects which were set to cost the government Tk 5,000 crore. In October 2010, the parliamentary standing committee on shipping ministry asked the ministry to prepare a detailed work plan to carry out the government's massive plan of dredging in the country's major rivers. Chief of the committee Noor-e-Alam Chowdhury had rather optimistically said that work of the massive dredging projects was likely to start from winter 2010. According to shipping ministry sources, the Tk 11,000 crore master plan is currently with the Planning Commission, awaiting approval.

A significant chunk of the proposed budget will go towards acquiring new dredgers. According to shipping ministry sources, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority’s (BIWTA) dredging fleet consists of two dredgers procured in 1972, five dredgers procured in 1975 and three dredgers procured earlier this year. Leaving aside the seven dredgers that are over 36 years old, the three recently purchased dredgers, deployed at Patuari, Daulatdia and Mawa, were reportedly facing major technical difficulties, although BIWTA sources have said that they were simply in the testing phase. “Dredgers are essentially machines and before they can operate effectively, they must be properly calibrated. The dredger deployed at Daulatdia did collide with a ferry in the first week of September and sustained major damage, but it has been repaired and returned to action on 20 September. All three dredgers are functioning smoothly”, said Engr. S. M. Mashuqul Alam, the superintending engineer (civil) of the dredging department of BIWTA.

Nevertheless, the seven over-36-year-old dredgers and three of dubious capacity is nowhere near enough to meet our requirements. According to shipping ministry sources, the prime minister has ordered the procurement of 17 more dredgers at the cost of Tk 1450 crore. Of the 17, the procurement process for 10 has made good headway. “Tender opening is taking place as we speak [25 September] for eight new dredgers. We can expect delivery of those dredgers within 15 months of the selection of the supplier,” said Alam. In the meantime, the shipping ministry is banking on the private sector to step up and bridge the gap. According to a ministry press statement, 15 dredgers are already available from the private sector, which are currently engaged in various dredging projects, and more should arrive soon. The ministry estimates that a total of 50 dredgers are required by BIWTA, and the ministry is attempting to involve the private sector to a greater extent.

Yet there are grumblings within the private sector. There are the perennial complaints regarding transparency in the procurement process and accountability of selected suppliers. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a private sector entrepreneur said, “Bureaucratic complications and an opaque tender process are the main deterrents discouraging more private sector players from competing in this field. There are many dredging solutions, and we should be focusing on selecting the right technology that can best adapt to our environment so that projects can stay within the allotted timeframe.” The source also brought up another issue, the dredge material or spoil.

One of the most pressing issues surrounding the dredge material (clay and excess material extracted from the riverbed during the dredging process) is spoil dumping. BIWTA’s inclination to pump the dredge material onto sandbanks, shoals or on apparently arbitrary sites has made many observers worried. But Alam points out the method to BIWTA’s ways. “Before we start dredging a site, we conduct a thorough hydrographic survey of the river section, which gives us a clear view of the topography of the riverbed. Based on this survey, and our measurements of flow direction and velocity, our onsite consultant identifies a viable dump site for the material/spoil. This is of course not a permanent solution, but other solutions would take more time, time which we simply do not have at this point.” He also points out that dredging has been going on at these sites for years, meaning that nearby dump sites have been filled up. At any rate, reaching these dump sites would require material/spoils being pumped through pipes, and given that multiple dredgers ply each site, the pipes would severely impede ferry movement through these channels. On top of that, on the bank of these rivers lie cultivable lands and these lands cannot be treated as dump sites (or so the official line goes).

Prof Md Abdul Matin, head of BUET’s Water Resource Engineering Department and a leading expert in this field, adds to this point, “The prime objective of BIWTA is to keep the river ferry and shipping routes navigable, especially during dry periods. While dredging on ferry routes, they mainly dredge the route more or less across the channel. The dredging operations of BIWTA for such cases are some times hindered by the movement of ferries and other river vessels, and also due to pipeline installations. As an immediate and emergency solution for the navigability problem, they are forced to dump the dredge material or spoil on nearby sandbanks or shoals. In fact, they do not have too many viable options for such wide rivers like Jamuna and Padma. However, such dumping of spoil on to the river will not provide us with sustainable benefit.”

And what of the use of the dredge material/spoil we are extracting? Prof Matin said, “Dredging material placement [disposal] is in fact more crucial than the dredging operation itself. Dumping dredge material into river or nearby sandbanks may be a temporary solution, but these should be disposed of, away from the river for beneficial uses depending on the quality of the dredged materials. This way the cost of dredging can be minimized. There are many other countries which have their own dredging material management plan. They use the material for beneficial purposes. Thus dredge material management plan is an important aspect to be taken into consideration before implementing future long term dredging operation.”

The shipping minister had said that given the state of the waterways as it is, even massive dredging projects running at full steam would require nine years. The scale of the task facing us simply cannot be underestimated, and unfortunately, regardless of which party had formed the incumbent government at the time, our overall track record of managing our rivers thus far has fallen short. Resuscitating our waterways cannot be anything but an against-the-current struggle, and one hopes the riverine nation will be up for it.

*This article was first published in daily newspaper The Independent's Weekend Magazine Sept 30 2011

http://www.theindependentdigital.com/index.php?opt=view&page=39&date=2011-09-30