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Using garment waste as fuel poses health hazards in Ctg

BSS, Chittagong
A substantial number of the Impoverished city dwellers particularly in the Bakalia area in Chittagong have been increasingly using readymade garment waste as cooking fuel, posing a serious threat to the environment as well as public health.
Around 50,000 low-income people in the city's Bakalia area are to depend on utilising "frittered away" (waste) created from readymade garment factories as their alternative fuel for cooking for past few years disregarding the adverse impact on the environment and public health.
A severe smell and thick smoke from burning of Nylon-category fabrics created an intolerable suffocating situation in some places of greater Bakalia.
The level of the city's air pollution has been rapidly increasing due to various poisonous gases like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide and benzene which are produced and emitted from the burning garment waste.
Most of the poor segments of people are used to live in quite a good number of makeshift colonies in Bakalia area where different basic urban amenities, including gas are absent.
Owners of at least 200 such colonies that included Mozaher Colony, Kabir Colony, Jamal Colony, Seraj Colony, Abul Colony, Bazal Colony, Abu Colony, Khayer Colony, Selim Colony, Babul Colony and Bismillah Colony have been making money by renting their thatched houses to the low-income people without providing them minimum facilities for habitation.
Residents of the most colonies that housed at least 50 to 60 thousand people are to depend on garment waste while a few families are used to use firewood or kerosene as fuel for cooking.
Garment waste better known as 'Jhuf is actually the cheapest than other cooking fuel like traditional firewood, machine-processed firewood or kerosene and it was the main
reason behind the increasing use of the leftovers as cooking fuel by the poor families.
"We are least bothered for using Jhut in cuisine. As poor, we use those as they are cheap" said Laily Begum, Mira Islam and Farzana Banu of Kabir Colony in unison.
There are at least 30 to 35 Jhut-selling shops at Boubazar in Bakalia area. Small Jhut shop owners as well as their poor subscribers admitted that Jhuts are cheaper as price of a kilogram Jhut is Tk 3 to 4 while the price of one-kilogram firewood isTk 10.
"I urged my tenants repeatedly to use firewood for cooking but they favour Jhuts for financial reason. At the same time, I do not have sufficient money for getting gas connec-
tion" Mahbub Jamal, owner of Jamal Colony said.
Councillor of South Bakalia Ward Yasin Chowdhury told BSS that he personally asked the colony (slum) owners to take gas connection and provide the facility to their tenants but they were reluctant.
'We are trying to aware poor people of using Jhut as cooking fuel but we are undone to remove Jhut shops from the area" she said.
Chancal Barua, a medical officer of Chittagong Medical College Hospital, said the trend of various types of respiratory problems among the people of this is high compared to other places in the city.
"Poor air quality and heavy environmental pollution might be the cause of preva-
lence of high respiratory problems in the area" he said.
Scientific Officer of Air Observation Centre, Chittagong, Dr A M Shawkat Hossain said polluted smoke produced from Jhut burning undoubtedly causes severe pollution ofair of the port city.
Jhut burning contributes much more quantity of particulate matters to the air, which poses a health hazard.
Director of Department of Environment (DoE), Chittagong, Abdus Sobhan said they were not informed about the matter.
He said the DoE would carry out investigation into the matter to gather necessary information and then would take proper steps on the basis of the field report.