How Tripura's toxic sewage is raising a stench in Bangladesh

Agartala: Northeast India has a rather complicated history and an even more curious present with the neighbouring nation of Bangladesh. Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya and Mizoram share a border with the country, and the border region is always in the news, mostly for all the wrong reasons.

However, one could argue that unlike, say, Assam, Tripura’s relationship with Bangladesh is much more amicable (at least for now). The longstanding camaraderie dates back to the 1971 liberation war, when the people of Tripura sheltered millions of Bangladeshi freedom fighters sans any conditions.

And in the recent past, Tripura and Bangladesh have extended help and support to each other and for good reason. For landlocked Tripura, Bangladesh presents access to roads and waterways for trade purposes. Earlier this year, when Assam’s Barak Valley was flooded, thereby locking the only route to Tripura, the Indian Oil Company said it would start moving fuel on a trial basis through Bangladesh.

Around 4.5 kilometres long, the Akhaura Canal starts in Agartala city’s old motor stand area and ends in Bangladesh.

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But despite the progress, a murky stream has remained the sore point. More specifically, it is the sewage of Agartala that flows into Bangladesh, unchecked, untreated and unfiltered.

This is not a new problem, of course.

While this problem has existed for decades, the quantum of waste has increased in line with how Agartala has expanded. Nowhere is this problem felt more than in the Akhaura area of Bangladesh. The water that flows downstream to river Titas has wreaked havoc in the lives of thousands living in the riverine villages close to the border region.

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According to sources in the Tripura Urban Development Department, the Tripura government has been planning to do something to address the grievances of Bangladesh for 10 years, but the efforts have come to nought.

Now, as part of the Agartala Smart City Mission, there are plans to construct a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) and, to the relief of Bangladesh citizens, work has already started. The logic here is that even if the treated water is not good enough for drinking, it can be used for agriculture and other purposes.

As part of the Agartala Smart City Mission, there are plans to construct a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) and work has already started

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Speaking exclusively to EastMojo, Chief Executive Officer Agartala Smart City Mission Sailesh Kumar Yadav said, “A total of Rs 24 crore was sanctioned for the project of which Rs 6 crore has already been spent. We hope the project will be completed soon as this issue is affecting the bilateral ties between India and Bangladesh.”

But while Yadav sounds optimistic, the ground reality is different. What he did not say is that the project was first approved in 2012. For ten years, the project file kept moving from one department to another because no one knew which department would take responsibility.

After much dilly-dallying, when both the Agartala Municipal Corporation and Urban Development Department stepped back from the project, the government inducted it into the mega Agartala Smart City project, which was scheduled to cost about Rs 18 crore, but has now been increased to Rs 24 crore. The construction works for the project started in 2019, but it remains far from completion.

Five kilometres of toxic waste

Construction underway for the proposed STP at Akhaura Integrated Checkpost in Agartala

The sewage line in question here is the Akhaura Canal. Around 4.5 kilometres long, this canal starts in Agartala city’s old motor stand area and ends in Bangladesh. In between, it runs through the main city point like the East Agartala Police Station. The waste includes all kinds of discarded liquid and solid waste from homes, government offices and hospitals located in the city areas. The Akhaura canal enters Bangladesh through the Integrated Check Post.

According to government estimates, in 2018, the sewage generation was 11 million litres a day (MLD), which rose to 12 MLD in 2020. It is expected that in 2035 and 2050, the projectile growth of the total sewage generation shall jump up to 20 MLD and 32.5 MLD, respectively. About 1.12 lakh people currently use the drain as their primary source of sewage disposal.

In Bangladesh, this drain was once recognised as the Senarbadi canal, which is now called the Kalandi canal. Mohiuddin Mishu, a journalist from Bangladesh’s Akhaura Upzaila (Sub-district) under the Brahmanbaria district, explains, “There is a context for the sudden change in nomenclature. Senarbadi was a name given by the locals because once this canal was a source of sweetwater. Today, it is all black and hence this is now known as Kalandi (black water canal).”

“I have visited India on several occasions. And I have observed that the entire liquid waste of the city areas with numerous schools, colleges, government offices etc is discharged into the canal, which dumps the waste into Bangladesh’s Kalandi canal. This canal carries the waste to the famous river Titas.”

“The toxic materials have now started contaminating the water of river Titas as well. The aquatic ecosystem has already collapsed in the Kalandi canal and now Titas is also getting affected,” Mishu adds.

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In Bangladesh, this drain was once called the Senarbadi (sweetwater) canal, but it is now known as the Kalandi (black water) canal

Mishu, who has worked on river pollution, also helped EastMojo to connect with some key resource persons in Bangladesh who have been working with local communities regarding this issue.

Md. Manir Hossain Babul, a customs agent in Akhaura land port, said, “This problem has persisted since Bangladesh’s Independence. But you can say that the growth of Agartala has increased the intensity of the waste discharged in the Bangladesh Kalandi canal. The water condition is so bad that it is completely black. It has a foul smell and as per my observation, there is no living organism in this water. This 10-km canal carries the water to Titas and at the convergence point the Titas turns red,” he said.

Babul and his associates have organised several human chains, conventions and campaigns against water pollution, but nothing happened. “The effects are visible. This water not only affects the aquatic ecosystem, it is also not effective for use in irrigation. Health problems like eczema, skin irritation and fungal infections have become a common feature in 15 villages located in the close vicinity of the canal,” Babul said.

Saiful Islam, Assistant Engineer in Brahmanbaria Water Resource Development Board (Pani Unnayan Board) said the only solution to this issue is the installation of STP on the Indian side of the canal.

The covered Akhaura Canal on the Indian side in Tripura

Dr AHM Sadat, the former chairman of the environment department at Jahangir University, demanded a comprehensive study on the effects of the polluted water discharged in Bangladesh untreated from India. “There are accepted laws on transboundary rivers. These laws put light on the problems and solutions associated with international river boundaries. A full-fledged survey followed by a study is required given the present situation,” said Sadat.

Sources in the Assistant High Commission of Bangladesh in Tripura said the issue was raised before the government during a recent meeting as well. “The state government has given us assurances to complete the project within a short period,” a source, said requesting anonymity.

Akhaura-based journalist Mohiuddin Misho contributed the Bangladesh inputs for this story.