Activists of thirteen environmental organizations including Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon (BAPA) organized a meeting to highlight the air pollution problem in Bangladesh in the capital today, especially in the capital. They urged the government to take stern action against those who are destroying the environment.
Quoting a joint study by the World Bank and ministry of environment the environmental activists said the Dhaka’s air is five times polluted than the accepted level. The accepted level of airborne particulate is fifty micrograms per cubic meter; the prevailing condition in the capital is two hundred and fifty micrograms per cubic meter.
Brick kilns surrounding the capital, traffic jam, faulty transports are the main cause of air pollution in the capital. There are about ten thousand brick kilns in the country and about half of those are situated in the surroundings of the capital. Air pollution level increased even after withdrawing two stroke three wheelers. Most brick kilns are using coal imported from Indian state Meghalaya. Coal found here contains seven to ten percent of sulfur, where only one percent sulfur is accepted.
A Dhaka University academic opined that here air pollution is at dangerous level compared to soil and water.
