Prime Minister (PM) Tarique Rahman's recent directive to clean up the rivers surrounding Dhaka and help make the capital's environment liveable is a welcome step. The meeting, as reported, reviewed measures to control pollution and remove waste from the Buriganga, Turag, Dhaleshwari, Balu and Shitalakkhya rivers and adjoining canals and drains, restore their navigability and normal water flow as well as develop the circular waterways around Dhaka. Evidently, the task before the government is one of humongous proportions. Consider the Buriganga, the lifeline of Dhaka, the water of which has turned black and emits such foul smell that even the surrounding air is difficult to breathe. The condition of the other four rivers is no better as untreated industrial effluents, untreated sewage and solid wastes continuously find their way into their waters. Add to this plastic, household garbage, clinical waste and oils discharged from vessels. Understandably, the PM has rightly stressed coordination among the agencies concerned.

It is worthwhile to recall here that plans and projects to save these rivers have never been in short supply. Over the past two decades, large sums of money have reportedly been spent on dredging, relocation of polluting industries, demarcation, removal of solid wastes and river restoration programmes. Yet the Buriganga and the other rivers surrounding the capital city continue to gasp for survival. While one agency dredged a river or removed garbage, untreated sewage and toxic industrial waste continued to pour into it from hundreds of outlets. Even now, dozens of industries along the Buriganga and Shitalakkhya do not have effluent treatment plants (ETPs), while many others having such facilities allegedly do not operate those continuously. Small wonder that the clean-up drives proved to be cosmetic interventions. Against this backdrop, an integrated approach recommended to control pollution, remove waste, restore navigability and operate circular waterways is clearly a step in the right direction. The present government under PM Tarique Rahman's leadership cannot simply afford to be a copy of the past.

So, he has reminded citizens that they cannot just wait for government directives but should do their part to make rivers pollution-free and help create a liveable environment. No government agency can keep a river clean if households, businesses, markets and other establishments continue dumping plastic bags, bottles and garbage into drains, canals and rivers with abandon. The government's plan to develop a 110-kilometre circular waterway around Dhaka and introduce water transport on it would unquestionably reduce pressure on city roads and restore some of the capital's lost riverine characteristics. But just dredging channels and operating water buses would hardly serve the purpose if the waterways themselves remain open sewers. The government must, therefore, shut illegal waste outlets, ensure treatment of industrial effluents and sewage, establish an effective solid-waste collection system and strictly punish those continuing to pollute the rivers.

However, cleaning up the rivers around Dhaka alone will not resolve the larger crisis of the country's waterways. River grabbing is a nationwide scourge. The government has reportedly identified close to 22,000 encroachers across the country, which only shows how deeply the malaise has spread. Rivers, canals and floodplains have over the decades been occupied by politically influential individuals, businesses and even institutions, narrowing their channels, destroying navigability and disrupting natural drainage. In that case, pollution control and freeing rivers from encroachment have to go hand in hand. The task cannot be left only to the ministries or district administrations concerned. The entire nation needs to be engaged in protecting rivers, while the government must demonstrate that no grabber, however much powerful, is above the law.