EJN Grantee Pushes for Accountability and Action to Protect Bangladesh’s Halda River and its Prized Fish

One night, during the monsoon season in 2021, Ruhul Amin received a tip from a Chattogram local who said the Asian Paper mill was releasing untreated waste into the Halda River.  “People here feel very strongly about the Halda,” he told EJN in an interview. “They hate to hear bad news.”

The Halda River is vital to the region’s sustainability, supplying nearly all of Chittagong’s water demand, which is approximately 460-480 million liters per day. It holds a lot of socio-cultural significance too, as the only tidal river that supports the spawning of the major Indian freshwater carp species, and is home to dozens of endangered Ganges River dolphins. However, in recent years, fish stocks have declined—cross-rubber dams built for irrigation and rising sea levels have led to salinity intrusion, while agricultural runoff and the indiscriminate dumping of household and industrial waste has increased water pollution levels.

Amin, at the time, was the executive officer or administrative head of Hathaazari sub-district. Monitoring the water quality was not part of his job, but he rushed immediately to the riverbank at 11pm and collected samples from a canal near the mill that drains into the river. He called the Department of the Environment with the water samples. The lab verified the presence of factory pollutants, and the mill was ordered to shut down until it installed a wastewater treatment unit.

Amin is one of the many important sources that journalist Faruk Munir developed in his diligent reporting on the Halda and the Karnaphuli, the larger river it falls into, which drains into the Bay of Bengal. A local reporter who has built a network of sources who trust him, Munir was awarded a story grant from Internews’ Earth Journalism Network as part of the Biodiversity Media Initiative.

EJN supported Munir’s comprehensive report, which was published in English by the Daily Business Post (National Daily) on September 17, 2021: “Experts Warn over Loss of Fish Species from Bangladesh’s Halda River”. A Bengali version of this story was published by Mohanagar News.

His story highlighted how climate change, development projects and pollution are causing fish species to disappear from the river and made clear the social, economic and ecological costs of this biodiversity loss. He took a nuanced approach to the issue, giving voice to farmers and fishers who depend on the river for their survival. Importantly, he also offered a roadmap for river recovery proposed by experts and scientists.

Munir is one of several local reporters who monitors the health of the Halda and the carp and dolphins it is home to. He is a member of a large and active Whatsapp group with journalists, scientists and policymakers focused on this issue. 

He told EJN that the sustained media attention and consistent follow ups he’s in part responsible for ensure that polluters and the government know their actions—or inaction—are not going unnoticed.

“The aim is to inform the public about everything that is impacting aquatic life in the river, and to influence officials to implement policies to save the river,” said Munir. “We journalists have to make the administration aware of the economic benefits of the river and highlight its importance to the region,” he added.

Munir’s report noted that the Hathazari Peaking Power Plant and Asian Paper Mills were shuttered until they invested in upgraded effluent treatment plants. (As of July 2024, both remain closed.)

After Munir’s report was published, several brick kilns—which use sand extracted from the river—were shut down and tobacco cultivation on the riverbanks was reduced, with farmers supported to grow less water- and pesticide-intensive crops.

The authorities began to collect samples of water from the Halda and test them more regularly, said Munir, adding that it is the only river in Bangladesh that is tracked so closely. Officials also installed CCTV cameras and tasked volunteers to monitor the 20-kilometer stretch that has been demarcated as a fish sanctuary, to ensure no illegal fishing activities take place.

One of the expert recommendations he highlighted in his story involved dredging and deepening the neighboring Karnaphuli River which sits between the Halda and the Bay of Bengal, so that during high tide, less salt water would flow upstream to the Halda. This project was undertaken by the government three years ago, and is currently ongoing.

“Mr. Faruk Munir produced a very good report in Business Post in 2021,” said Md. Manzoorul Kibria, who leads the Halda River Research Laboratory at the University of Chittagong and was interviewed extensively for the article. (Kibria is also active on the group chat focused on the Halda.) 

“That report had a great impact at the policymaking level. Faruk Munir has done many reports on Halda, and each report has played an important role in the preservation of the river,” he added.

“It was the headline and its immediacy,” added Amin, recalling the effect the story had on him. “And the fact that it highlighted a reduction of several species due to harmful activities. That was the most compelling element of the story.” The story had credibility and importance, as it was published in Bengali and English by reputable news outlets, he added.

The government official told EJN that several state agencies who are responsible for the protection of the Halda took note of the story, from the district administration to the fisheries department to the environmental ministry.

Munir explained that the paper mill and power plant have since tried to resume operations but as it was revealed that they are responsible for polluting the river and media pressure remains high, the deputy commissioner of Chattogram has denied them permission to reopen until they comply with the waste treatment regulations.

He emphasized that the power of local watchdog journalism comes not just from one story, but from consistent surveillance. 

“As local journalists, we have to always be aware and follow up on issues, and keep bringing them to audiences to put pressure on influential people. If we keep quiet and keep our eyes closed they will start [environmentally harmful practices] again,” he said.

“Usually we journalists cannot keep them at bay; the Halda river so far has been the exception. So we continue to file a report whenever anything happens. We have to be vigilant and show our intent to always be surveillant of the river, he added. “We see this as one of the achievements of the journalists of Chittagong."

But despite the progress, more still has to be done—as prized brood fish (which release eggs into the river) continue to decline and endangered dolphins are found dead. Local journalists like Munir find it important to stay in touch with researchers to learn more about the suspected causes of these recent losses.

In a bid to conserve the river and increase accountability, Munir had reported that the government had announced the formation of an independent organization named Halda River Management Authority in 2020 to regulate and enforce protections on the Halda, but this is still stuck in “bureaucratic tangles”, he said. He continues to track its progress.

His reports—and those of his peers—have made officials aware of the environmental impacts of rubber dams and embankments, which reduce the movement and spawning of fish in the river and increase salinity. He hopes their sustained coverage will also make policymakers more cautious and encourage them to commission in-depth studies before embarking on development projects in the future, he said.

Local journalism is vital to this turnaround. “The role of environmental news is paramount,” said Amin, “especially in a country like Bangladesh, where policymakers often rely on news coverage of environment-related issues, because reporters are the first ones who can really spot any problem before anyone else.”

Banner image: Journalists like Faruk Munir keep sustained media attention on the health of the Halda river, and ensure that policymakers take action to conserve it / Credit: Amin Munna.