Posh areas have costly houses, but no sewerage system: Dhaka north mayor

Houses in the capital city's posh areas like Gulshan and Baridhara are built spending crores of taka, but sewage treatment plants which cost only Tk4-5 lakh are not being set up in those neighbourhoods, Dhaka North Mayor Atiqul Islam has said.

"We did a survey a few days ago. It was found that 99.99% of houses in areas like Baridhara do not have a sewage system. But the price of land in Baridhara is more than that in Manhattan," Atiqul Islam said, as Dhaka North City Corporation will start using the newly-built Dasherkandi plant for desludging and treating household sewage of parts of the city.

Even villagers have their own sewage management using soakwells, the mayor said. "Sewage black water is being disposed of by connection to surface drains. We have already surveyed Zone-3 of DNCC," Atiqul said, warning of measures to stop such practices in all the zones of the city in phases.

Dhaka North City Corporation and Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) signed an agreement on safe and sustainable sewage management using the facilities of the state-of-the-art Dasherkandi Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) in Dhaka.

The plant, largest of its kind in South Asia with the capacity to treat 500 million litres of sewage per day, was inaugurated in July this year as part of Dhaka Wasa's masterplan to build five STPs to treat Dhaka city's sewage and wastewater in a modern and environment-friendly way.

The Tk3,482 crore plant, with fund support from China on 62 acres of land in the capital's Aftabnagar, will initially treat sewage of Gulshan, Banani, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Baridhara, Kalachandpur, Shahjadpur, Karail, Mohakhali, Badda, Rampura, Khilgaon, Malibagh, Begunbari, Kunipara, Nakhalpara, Moghbazar, Diluroad, New Eskaton Road, and Madhubagh.

Local government minister Tajul Islam witnessed the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoA) between Dhaka North and Dhaka Wasa at Hotel Westin in the capital.

The deal, signed by Dhaka North's Chief Waste Management Officer SM Shariful Islam and Dhaka Wasa Chief Engineer Kamrul Hasan, paved the way for the two city agencies to carry out scheduled desludging of sewage from the residences of city dwellers in different areas and provide extraction services.

It has been decided to take the collected waste and polluted water primarily to South Asia's largest sewage treatment plant located at Dasherkandi, for purification and return to the environment.

It will be implemented by DNCC and Dhaka Wasa in collaboration with Unicef and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

DNCC Mayor Atiqul Islam said, "This initiative of safe and sustainable sewage management by DNCC and Dhaka Wasa will bring benefits to build a pollution-free city. However, instead of depending on the government it is possible to prevent pollution if everyone spends a little money and instals a treatment plant at their home."