4 minute read
Sustenance in the shadows of the River Buriganga
Image of a local fish market near Buriganga. © Sabiha Haque
The people of Dhaka have always been challenged in their interaction with the River Buriganga in Bengal. Here, landscape architect Sabiha Haque provides three vignettes offering insights into the city’s relationship with the river, as it tries to maintain supplies of food and water in a place with increased pollution and restricted access.
Around 1610 AD a trade hub grew by the River Buriganga in Bengal. Buriganga, which is sometimes also known as Gangaburi, has a romantic past, with those living nearby depending on it for food, water, transport, and bathing. However, it has continuously suffered abuse from sewage outfalls, industrial waste, and much more. Today it continues to offer people entertainment, navigation, and food despite high pollution levels.
This struggle is not unique to Buriganga, with communities worldwide facing similar predicaments. The Buriganga River spans 27 kilometres. This article focuses on the Buriganga channel between Kamrangir Char on the east bank of the river, and Kholamora, Keraniganj, on the West. Kamrangir Char is densely populated, with over 143,000 residents. The study examined about 4.8 kilometres of both riverbanks.
Drinking water
Until 1874, Dhaka people relied directly on rivers, ponds, and wells for sources of drinking water to be transported by the Vhistii¹ community, who transported water from the river in leather vessels. In an 1869 report it was mentioned that water became unsuitable to drink from the available water sources. Following this problem, in the year 1874, Nabab Khaja Abdul Ghani established a water treatment plant in Chadnighat, Dhaka.
The Chandnighat water treatment plant drew water from the Buriganga channel. After the upgrade of the plant in 1997, an independent evaluation in 2003 showed that additional conduit pipes boosted the supply capacity of the water treatment plant but the quantity of water consumption and supply had fallen during dry periods due to the lower water level. Therefore, despite having the river and surface water treatment plant that could supply clean water, it is no longer working well, and people have to use alternative sources for drinking water.
Kamrangir Char falls in the Padma North West distribution sector and will eventually be supplied by 450 MLD of fresh water from the River Padma. Until then the community near Kamrangir Char will have to be reliant on groundwater extraction or purchasing bottled water. Almost 96% of people use tube wells.
Fish supplies
Buriganga is a tide-influenced river mainly fuelled by the upper Turag and downstream of the Bongshi River. Buriganga has an average depth of 7.6 metres and the maximum depth is 18 metres. The water level is highest during the monsoon in August and September, with around 56 types of fish available to catch. July to October is the fishing season with the best supply of fish. According to the article Fish Species Diversity, Fishing Gears and Crafts from The Buriganga River, Dhaka, the most commonly available fish in Buriganga were carp-like Cypriniformes.
While visiting the study area we were looking for both fish markets and fishermen. Unfortunately, the fish market no longer sells fish from Buriganga as it is claimed that there are no longer enough fish to catch. During this investigation, an encounter with a local fisherman taught me a lot about the fishing situation in the monsoon season. Currently, the river is filled with invasive sucker fish. As a predator, it eats other fish and populates faster.
Vegetable farming
In a situation where the river water is contaminated and there is a diminishing supply of fish, the local community has had to find ingenious methods to use river banks for growing vegetables. Tiny places behind the shop and the slope of the river bank near to the road are used for growing vegetables. Vegetables are placed mostly on a trellis and are used to grow food such as squash, pumpkin, flat green beans, gourd, and singletrunk trees like coconut, papaya, and banana. Residents use the runoff from the roads, rainwater, and sometimes water from the river for irrigation. Water-efficient plants on a trellis and minimum footprint are an excellent choice to grow near the polluted river. Homesteads mostly use banana, coconut, and taro.
Sabiha Haque is a Dhaka-based landscape architect who specialises in research-driven landscape design and construction.
