Bangladesh has experienced a dramatic decline in its inland waterways over the past six decades, with navigable river routes shrinking from approximately 12,000 kilometers in the mid-1960s to around 4,500 kilometers during the monsoon season today, and further reducing to 2,500 kilometers in dry periods. This significant reduction has forced the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) to officially abandon several major river routes once bustling with cargo and passenger traffic.

Despite numerous government initiatives and substantial investments aimed at reviving these waterways, experts say that the core issues remain unaddressed. Two interrelated crises are at play: loss of navigability and escalating pollution. A recent BIWTA survey identified more than 424 discharge points releasing about 330,000 kilograms of liquid and solid waste daily into major rivers around Dhaka, including the Buriganga, Turag, Balu, and Shitalakhya. Industrial sources are responsible for roughly 60 percent of this pollution, while drainage systems and households contribute around 30 percent and 10 percent respectively. Alarmingly, nearly 99 percent of the estimated 7,000 industrial plants lack functional effluent treatment facilities.

River dredging projects have been a significant component of government efforts, with a plan initiated six years ago to restore 10,000 kilometers of navigable routes. While targeted dredging activities in the Surma and Kushiyara rivers have temporarily boosted trade in some areas, the larger picture reveals systemic problems. An audit by the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division in 2019 uncovered irregularities in projects valued at nearly Tk 5,000 crore, noting issues such as repeated silt removal due to improper disposal methods that cause re-siltation during monsoon floods. This mismanagement has been characterized as "river mining" rather than effective river rehabilitation.

Pollution is another pressing concern. Wastewater from Dhaka’s sewage drains continues to flow directly into rivers without adequate treatment. The BIWTA survey outlines specific sources, including 66 Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) drains and multiple discharges from Dhaka’s city corporations. The ecological consequences are severe: dissolved oxygen levels in the Buriganga have reached near zero, far below the minimum needed to sustain aquatic life. Detection of antibiotic residues in the water also raises alarms about potential antimicrobial resistance risks for the over 20 million residents who rely on these water bodies.

The pollution problem extends beyond the capital. Monitoring by the Department of Environment and research by the Rivers and Delta Research Centre indicate critically low oxygen levels and high pollution indices in rivers across regions such as Gazipur, Narsingdi, Habiganj, and Khulna. Industrial effluents from factories continue to contaminate waterways feeding vital ecosystems like the Sundarbans mangrove forest.

Efforts to address pollution through infrastructure projects have met with limited success. The costly relocation and treatment plant installation for tanneries in Savar, for example, has not fully curtailed untreated effluent discharges. Over the past twenty years, Bangladesh has allocated more than Tk 3,200 crore on projects focused primarily on dredging, demarcation, and beautification of the Buriganga, without substantial investment in halting pollutant inflows.

A newly approved $370 million program by the World Bank aims to improve water security and sanitation for parts of Metro Dhaka, including establishing a public water-quality index. However, experts caution that past failures indicate that funding alone will not reverse environmental degradation without stronger enforcement and systemic changes.

Analysts suggest three critical steps to improve river conditions: first, holding polluters accountable using detailed outlet maps with strict timelines and penalties; second, enforcing effluent treatment requirements rigorously to address widespread non-compliance; and third, expanding detailed pollution source mapping nationwide, empowering regulatory bodies to impose sanctions as mandated by a 2019 High Court ruling recognizing rivers as living entities.

With over 150 rivers lost in just two generations, observers argue that genuine river restoration depends on controlling pollution discharge rather than relying solely on dredging or monitoring. Closing polluting outlets remains essential to preserving the waterways that sustain Bangladesh’s ecology and economy.