18/09/2026
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗪𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗗𝗮𝘆𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗛𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗨𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗜𝗻 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁
The night view of industrial mills along the Padma River seems innocent enough to
anyone commuting from Dhaka to Faridpur. Yet, behind those glowing factory lights lies a dark secret. While the rest of the world sleeps, toxic heavy metals and deadly invisible pollutants reach their peak poisoning the environment in ways most people don't notice until it's too late.
At night, the mills near the Padma seem very meritorious, but the people living near them are inhaling poison and toxins every day. As we know, every well established civilization starts with a river and ends with a river. Herodotus, known as the "Father of History," told us in his book ‘The Histories (Book II)’ that “Egyptian society, agriculture, trade, and statehood existed entirely for the Nile River”. Bangladesh is a deltaic country formed by the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna rivers. Research conducted by Rajshahi University found that much municipal and industrial waste is entering the Padma River. Some of this industrial liquid was untreated and directly dumped into the river without an ETP. Here, ETP stands for Effluent Treatment Plant; these are industrial wastewater treatment systems whose main function is to remove physical, chemical, and biological toxins from water before dumping it in the river. The PPM (Parts Per Million) in the main deltas of Bangladesh shows what danger we are living with. PPM is a standard measurement process to figure out the heavy metal content quantity in a river. Chromium(Cr) Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), and Zinc (Zn) are measured through PPM. As per research conducted by Dr. M.A. Hashem, Chromium levels are 0.18 to 1.45 mg/L while the actual WHO standard limit is 0.5 mg/L(WHO), Lead is 0.08 to 0.42 mg/L but the standard safety limit is 0.01mg/L(WHO),and Cadmium is 0.012 to 0.085mg/L while the safety limit is 0.003mg/L(WHO). This means Chromium is up to 29 times higher, Lead is 42 times higher, and Cadmium is 28 times higher than safe limits. Not only that, Chromium in river mud is 220 to 1,050 PPM but the international safety limit is 43.4 PPM and Lead in mud is 48.5 to 112.0 PPM but the international safety limit is 35.8 PPM. Research conducted over 7 months using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS) confirmed that Chromium levels are way higher than normal.
This high level of chemicals didn't increase in one day; it has slowly poisoned the
rivers. Bangladesh is a textile dominant country, and every industry produces a
significant amount of waste. Some factories manage waste according to standard
rules, while others simply dump it. Many dyeing plants and garment production
facilities discharge high amounts of dyes and toxic chemicals into the water, causing fatal harm in the river ecosystem. Many rare fishes are disappearing from the river. It is not only textile factories, but also steel mills and brick kilns around 30 steel mills and 350 brick kilns in industrial areas like Narayanganj dump untreated waste and chemicals directly into the water. Some shipbreaking operations dump toxic slag into soil and water, and some small-scale operations throw lead-acid slurry into gutters. As reported by Independent TV and Channel 24, some mills bypass the ETP system at night to save on electricity and chemical neutralization costs. This is further explained in a paper written by Dr. Ahmad Kamruzzaman Majumder, who continuously observed the air quality of Dhaka 24 hours a day for 8 years (2016- 2023). His tests showed that from evening through the night and into the early morning, the AQI is at its peak. Daytime AQI improves because solar heating expands the atmospheric boundary layer and increases wind, which helps dilute ground level pollution. But at night, the ground cools down, so there is no solar heating and less warm air rising, making convection weak. Thus, the atmospheric boundary layer becomes much thinner.
On August 14, 2026, a toxic gas leak in Sitakunda, Chattogram took 9 to 10 workers' lives. Those workers were cleaning a natural gas-carrying tank, while cleaning the truck seal leaked and the workers died. After the incident, many safety violations were found. This recent incident is one of many causes slowly poisoning us. If people use water containing high Cadmium or Lead, they can face kidney damage and bone mineral loss. High amounts of Chromium and Cadmium cause
carcinogenic risk (cancer). If children are affected, they can suffer neurological harm. Also people face respiratory disease, asthma, cardiovascular attacks, stroke, and blood clots, which reduces life expectancy. Not only humans, but the environment is also affected: dumping untreated chemicals triggers a biological oxygen deficit in aquatic life and disrupts the food chain of organisms in the water & the biodiversity of ecosystem.
Industrial contamination from heavy metals & toxic untreated chemical untreated
wastewater, and illegal nighttime chemical discharges is seriously threatening
Bangladesh’s rivers, air quality, ecosystems, and public health & surroundings
biodiversity. Communities live in surroundings should avoid using untreated river
water and outdoor exposure during periods of high air pollution. Stopping the
bypassing of ETP systems and ensure that all toxic emissions and wastewater
discharges are properly monitored and treated. Strong regulatory enforcement and
continuous environmental monitoring are essential to protect public health and
prevent the permanent degradation of Bangladesh’s vital river systems.
Sources/References:
● Chemical pollution in Bangladesh threatens Public health and climate
resilience, Prothom Alo (Dr. Shahriar Hossain), May 26, 2026
● ETPsystems to be brought under online monitoring to make Buriganga River
pollution free , Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), July 23, 2026
● Trading Lives for Profit: How the Shipping Industry Circumvents Regulations
to Scrap Toxic Ships on Bangladesh's Beaches, Human Rights Watch and the
NGOShipbreaking Platform (Julia Bleckner), September 28, 2023
● Industrial Pollution brings eco-peril for N'ganj,
(Masumuzzaman), May 19, 2023
Bangladesh Post
● Fast Fashion: The Dark Side of Fashion, Deutsche Welle (DW Documentary)
(Gilles Bovon and Edouard Sanjuan), February 2, 2020
● Searchlight, Independent TV, March 2021
● Investigation 360°, Channel 24
● Exploring Water Pollution in Padma, Meghna, and Jamuna River: focusing
Health and Environmental Impact Assessment, Journal of Materials and
Environmental Science, Vol. 16 Issue 3 (Kaniz Fatema Usha, I. Jahan, S.T.
Auyon, M.A. Islam, and M.A. Farukh), March 2025
● Pollution Poses threat to ecosystem in Padma River: experts, Bangladesh
Sangbad Sangstha (Md. Aynal Haque), February 19, 2025
● Timeseries Analysis PM2.5 Concentration, For City Dhaka from 2016 to 2023,
Science Frontiers, Volume 5, Issue 1, Pages 35-42 (Dr. Ahmad Kamruzzaman
Majumder), February 5, 2024
● Inorganic Pollutants in Padma River, Bangladesh, Environmental Earth
Sciences, Volume 39, Issue 9, Pages 1059-1062, archived on ResearchGate
(M.A. Hashem), January 2000
Written by: Nehlin Rahman Niha
Edited by: Syeda Miteba Akter Mahi
