India, April 19 -- T he French merchant Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, in his 1684 travelogues, wrote that Dhaka seemed to extend only in length, as "everyone coveted to have a house by the Ganges-side" (referring to the mighty Buriganga). Today, this is a dead river. It sustains little aquatic life. Its waters are black. A foul, rotten-egg stench indicates the presence of noxious effluents. Bangladesh-born environmental social scientist Sonia Hoque, whose 2025 book Water Diaries explores crises in Bangladesh and Kenya, says the river now contains so much hydrogen sulfide that even flecks of its water tarnish silver jewellery. The worst culprits here, adds the senior research associate with the research body Oxford Water Network, are the textile ...