Although this year's World Environment Day is about eliminating use of plastics, we must not forget the pollution inflicted on country's dying rivers. With talks about salvaging the Buriganga and other rivers debated on whether they can truly be salvaged or not, massive public awareness campaigns are required to ensure that these rivers, an integral part of the environment, do not become dumping grounds for waste disposal. The risks are high and so are the stakes. The critical state of rivers in Bangladesh is known to all, yet there is so little that is being done to address the problem. We need to think of ourselves as part of a community and work to make this country livable, and the river that sustains it, and us, a priority.

Although this year's World Environment Day is about eliminating use of plastics, we must not forget the pollution inflicted on country's dying rivers. With talks about salvaging the Buriganga and other rivers debated on whether they can truly be salvaged or not, massive public awareness campaigns are required to ensure that these rivers, an integral part of the environment, do not become dumping grounds for waste disposal. The risks are high and so are the stakes. The critical state of rivers in Bangladesh is known to all, yet there is so little that is being done to address the problem. We need to think of ourselves as part of a community and work to make this country livable, and the river that sustains it, and us, a priority.