A large number of diseases commonly found In Bangladesh are caused by microbes in water, food and air Gastro-intestinal disorders, respiratory tract Infections, infections of the eye. ear and nose are examples of these diseases.

Infectious diseases due to ■ polluted air. water and soil such as diphtheria, tetanus, polio, measles and tuberculosis are common among children. Infant and child mortality rates are high. 110-125 and 25 respectively. per 1000 live' births.

Unplanned urbanization and industrialization contributing to increasing urban pollution and injudicious uses of chemical fertilizers and pesticides tn the rural areas have all contributed to the problems of health and sanitation

The hazards of biological and chemical pollution of the sources of water are well-known and commonly seen here. Eighty per cent of the diseases prevalent in the country are water related. Some of the most communicable diseases are present throughout the year. These are : various forms of diarrhoea and dysentery, typhoid, warm infestation and viral hepatitis.

Diarrhoeal diseases, which have been virtually eliminated from the developed countries through improved water sup-Kand sanitation, still top the in this country.

Water available to an average Bangladeshi is inadequate in quantity as well as poor in quality. Rivers and ponds are the major sources of water for all domestic purposes. Only a fraction of the village popula tion uses tubewell water.

Piped water is available to only about 35 per cent of the people of Dhaka and 32 per cent of the people of other towns. Contamination of piped water Is not uncommon and the slum-dwellers have no access to sale water.

Deep tubewells used for irrigation of fields has led to lowering of the ground water level leading In turn to difficulties In obtaining water from hand tubewells for domestic purposes.

In the coastal areas high salinity of the ground water makes provision of water supply expensive and difficult. Iron content of 70 per cent of the tubewells is in excess of the maximum tolerable level. Because of iron and salinity problems people are forced to use surface water from ponds which is less saline and low in Iron content but polluted.

The state of sanitation all over the country is far from satisfactory. Disposal of disease-spreading human excreta and garbage is done in a manner very harmful to health. 'Only 33 per cent of the rural population uses a fixed place for defecation and only two to four per cent of the rural

households have sanitary latrines.

In urban areas the situation is slightly better but not satisfactory. Only 35 per cent of the households in Dhaka have access to sewerage lines and only 38 per cent households of Chtitagong have septic tanks.

The garbage collected in Dhaka is carried in trucks mostly uncovered and inadequate in number. The careless and untimely movement of trucks spreading litter and the way is a serious health hazard.

Bangladesh is one of the least industrialized countries, yet industrial pollution causing health hazards is a reality. Wastes and effluents' released by the industries either pollute the air causing respiratory problems or pollute the water making it unsafe for human beings and aquatic life.

The major polluting industries in Bangladesh are tanneries. fertilizer factories, textile mills, sugar mills, paper mills, vegetable oil mills and pesticide factories which pollute the air with dust and fumes and oxides of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur.

Many of the industrial units

are located in or near residential areas. The air and noise pollution caused by them is undoubtedly a health hazartl for both the residents of the areas and the workers.

Injudicious use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides by uneducated farmers is another cause of concern in this country. Besides producing toxic projects as the water here cannot flow out.

There is another reason why these closed water systems become a reservoir of diseases. The human excreta accumulated in the closed water systems can cause epidemics. A study in the Chatan Beel area has shown that people there now suffer from diseases that were not there.

An unpublished study by the University of Engineering and Technology has confirmed rising incidence of diarrhoeal diseases (and also instances of mosquito breeding) In flood control and irrigation projects.

The air people breathe is no longer clean and smoke-free. There is serious pollution of air In major cities including Dhaka arising from rapid growth of population. Increasing numbers of automobiles and industrial units' and Increased use of chemicals for

various purposes. The air people inhale in the cities contain rising proportions of such harmful chemicals as carbon monoxide and nitrous oxide. The consequent Illnesses range from simple allergies, eye irritation and sneezing to respiratory troubles Including asthma

The Department of Environment (DOE) monitors surface, ground and piped water tn urban areas and monitors industrial wastes. But it works on a much too narrow SCa^e DOE monitors the quality of water at 24 sites of only small section of the rivers Padma, Meghna. Buriganga. Sitalakhya, Karotoa. Karnaphuli, Rupsha/Bhairab. Balu and Surma.

Ground water is tested at only 16 sites spread out in the country with water samples collected from deep and shallow tubewells. Bacteriological tests are done only periodically and not at all sites.

The air quality of Dhaka was monitored last year when the DOE had the necessary equipment with it for 10 months.

The DOE has been entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring environmental protection through continuous vigilance and action

programmes. But shortage of skilled staff, poor physical facilities, limited material resources and lack of funds have kept its activities at a minimum level.

Because of weaknesses in the relevant laws or ineffectiveness of the puniUve measures provided in them, the different bodies and agencies, though theoretically authorized to take action, find themselves helpless In dealing with pollution-related problems. Unless these lacunae are removed and the DOE is strengthened enough cmironmental protection will •l-.un more a pious wish il & ility.

Of laic uuiHitives have been taken to assess the envlro'n-menlal problems affecting health and sanitation. The National Conservation Strategy (NCS), a project of the Ministry of Environment and the International Union for effects in human body, these chemicals disturb the total agricultural ecosystem by killing beneficial species of bacteria, insects, parasites and warms.

Pesticides can build up a dangerous level in closed water systems like the river Dakatia. the Chandpur and the Meghna-Dhonagoda Irrigation Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), is researching a strategy for sus-

tainable development. The objective is to help find appropriate remedial measures