MOHESPUR — A garbage dump has piled up alongside the Mohespur bypass road on the bank of the Kapotaksha River, directly opposite the Mohespur municipal office. Waste collected by trucks each day from the municipality’s nine wards is being dumped at the site, sending a strong stench into the surrounding area and posing a serious risk to the environment and public health.
A visit to the site found a mix of rotting vegetables, polythene, soiled clothes, hospital waste and other debris piled along the road. The smell makes it difficult to walk past, residents said, especially in the morning and afternoon when schoolchildren and office workers are most affected.
Ahsan Habib, a passerby, said anyone walking the road has to cover their nose and mouth. “Sometimes I feel like vomiting. With even a slight breeze, the stench spreads everywhere,” he said.
Abdullah, an auto-rickshaw driver, said dogs, cats and crows crowd the dump throughout the day and scatter the trash onto the road. “There’s a risk of accidents at night, and when it rains the whole road fills with dirty water,” he said.
Local residents and business owners said the municipality has been dumping waste at the site for a long time. What used to be an empty patch on the riverbank, they said, has now turned into a heap of garbage. Polluted water is leaching into the river, raising fears of contamination.
Sadia Akter, a local schoolgirl, said she takes the road to school every day. “We have to run past while holding our noses. When it rains, it’s even worse,” she said.
Environmental specialists said dumping waste so close to a populated area poses serious risks. Beyond the stench, they said, the dump can spread disease and become a long-term threat to public health.
Khadiza Akter, the Mohespur upazila executive officer who also administers the municipality, said the area lacks a designated site for waste management. “That is why, for now, waste is being placed at this location. We are already working to identify a permanent site, and the problem will be resolved soon by setting an alternative location,” she said.
Residents have called on authorities to act quickly to remove the waste and put proper management in place, saying the dump is marring the look of Mohespur along the highway.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report