Dhaka’s forever toxic air

It is totally unacceptable that, over the last few years, our capital city has been constantly on the list of the worst cities in the world in terms of air pollution, the latest "nod" coming on Thursday morning, before a similar one just the day before. As a recent study by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) has shown, air pollution has increased by almost 13 percent in Dhaka since 2020. But while city dwellers have been suffering from various health-related complications by breathing in polluted air regularly, the authorities seemed rather nonchalant about it. We have hardly seen any substantial measures taken to reduce the toxic air.

Will this continue to be the reality for us? Or will something be done about it?

We all know about the major sources of air pollution: smoke from brick kilns, dust from construction sites, fumes from life-expired vehicles, inefficient cooking practices, etc. Measures that can help reduce it—such as phasing out conventional brick kilns, covering up construction sites and materials, spraying water on the streets, etc—are not unknown either. Unfortunately, despite frequent urgings by citizen groups, the authorities have failed to ensure proper implementation of these measures.

In particular, the environment ministry has miserably failed to provide us with any specific action plan to contain air pollution or play a decisive role to ensure results. The Department of Environment has set up a few air quality monitoring centres across the country. But what good are such centres if we cannot stop major polluters or sources of pollution from causing it in the first place?

Research has found that air pollution causes about 20 percent of all premature deaths in Bangladesh, while it is also increasing premature births in Dhaka. On average, each Dhaka resident has to spend Tk 4,000 a year for diagnosis and treatment of diseases likely caused by polluted air. How much, or long, must we suffer before the authorities come up with a pragmatic action plan to prevent it?