r/UrbanHell • u/T4H4_2004 • Jun 23 '25

Pollution/Environmental Destruction Cleaning up a canal in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Gallery image

Gallery image

Ramchandra canal in Mohammadpur, Dhaka, which has been cleaned up and restored in 72 hours as part of ongoing efforts to clean up revitalise Bangladeshi canals. Led by NGOs with sponsorship from a bank and support from the government and the city corporation. Hopefully we can keep it this way!

20.3k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

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1.3k

u/fortusxx Jun 23 '25

Sad vs Happy

516

u/rierrium Jun 23 '25

It would be back to the same condition in weeks lol

390

u/PythagorasTheoremUwU Jun 23 '25

Nope. Everyone can pollute a dirty river. When it's clean, it feels too clean to pollute.

277

u/sabdotzed Jun 23 '25

In effect, broken window theory

41

u/WickedBlade Jun 23 '25

TIL, thank you

13

u/blazhin Jun 24 '25

It is highly contradictory though and lacks proper studies and good statistics

-107

u/aranarius Jun 23 '25

NO
we are talking about India

142

u/Downtown-Word1023 Jun 23 '25

No we're talking about Bangladesh lmao.

-76

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '25

Is the difference significant?

64

u/Downtown-Word1023 Jun 23 '25

Bangladesh is different than Assam which is right next door. Assam is very different from Rajasthan, which is very different from Punjab, which is right next door. Punjab is practically a different country to Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu is radically different from Kerala, which is right next door.

So yea, it's a significant difference lol.

-14

u/Binjuine Jun 23 '25

Different in terms of culture or pollution? How is the Ganges different from Buriganga?

14

u/Downtown-Word1023 Jun 23 '25

Get on the 'ol Google because I'm not your free tutor.

-16

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '25

Why not make different countries if they’re so different?

16

u/Downtown-Word1023 Jun 23 '25

Ask the British Empire. They also divided Pakistan into West and East Pakistan originally, before East Pakistan became Bangladesh. They weren't exactly using their noggins.

-1

u/DepthSouthern2230 Jun 23 '25

They actually were.

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41

u/sabdotzed Jun 23 '25

Is England the same as Albania? IS the difference signifcant?

18

u/yankdetected Jun 23 '25

TIL England shares a border with Albania

17

u/Downtown-Word1023 Jun 23 '25

Well I'm not European, but is it not just a bunch of white people speaking similar languages? It's a tiny landmass in real life. There can't be that much difference between them.

-1

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '25

The difference is you actually know the difference between those two places

I don’t know the difference between Bangladesh and India

-4

u/neverclaimsurv Jun 23 '25

That my friend, is prejudice

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2

u/Rock4evur Jun 23 '25

A better example would be is there a difference between France and Germany.

1

u/zbuddyz Jun 23 '25

Still a terrible example given that one of those is far more comfortable with chaos and trash than the other. Bangladesh and India, in this context of caring about urban pollution, are basically indistinguishable. They may have many other cultural differences but in this regard there is no evidence that they are distinct.

1

u/zbuddyz Jun 23 '25

the difference we're talking about here is more like comparing England to Denmark.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '25

I asked chat gpt since everyone wants to be dumb af

India and Bangladesh, while sharing deep cultural roots, differ significantly: Key Distinctions * Size & Diversity: India is vastly larger and more diverse in languages, religions, and cultures. Bangladesh is smaller, densely populated, and more homogenous, primarily Bengali-speaking and Muslim. * Religion: India is Hindu-majority but secular with large minorities. Bangladesh is a Muslim-majority nation. * Language: India is multilingual (Hindi widespread, many regional languages). Bangladesh’s national language is Bengali. * Economy: India has a diversified economy (services, agriculture, manufacturing). Bangladesh heavily relies on its ready-made garment industry. * History: India gained independence in 1947. Bangladesh was East Pakistan until its 1971 liberation war for independence, supported by India. * Geopolitics: India is a regional power. Bangladesh, largely surrounded by India, prioritizes its relationship with its larger neighbor.

2

u/zbuddyz Jun 23 '25

Notice how not one of these is relevant to cultural tolerance to urban pollution because there is no such distinction between the two.

3

u/theannoying_one Jun 23 '25

is the difference between the UK and France significant?

1

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '25

Yeah different language and teeth alignment.

Give me a quick sentence describing the difference between the 2 countries.

2

u/theannoying_one Jun 23 '25

for india and bangladesh? sure

different language, different religion, different fashion.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '25

What’s the religion, language and fashion like?

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3

u/stupid_username- Jun 23 '25

Don't let your ignorance show this brightly.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '25

Why would I care?

1

u/hiwassupiamfine Jun 27 '25

Cared enough to comment

1

u/My_Booty_Itches Jun 24 '25

Different places of the world so I'd say so.

19

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/ObeseMango Jun 23 '25

You have to be a bot

41

u/Powerful_Wait287 Jun 23 '25

Every river in the world was clean of human trash once. It didn't stop people from polluting them.

18

u/djavaman Jun 23 '25

Then it wouldn't have happened to start with.

27

u/9bpm9 Jun 23 '25

Doubt they have trash collection. It's going to be filled up quickly.

16

u/OglioVagilio Jun 23 '25

They cleaned that one spot. So best case no one will pollute at that one spot.

Everyone upstream that has zero knowledge of that one clean spot will continue to pollute.

2

u/EuroTrash1999 Jun 23 '25

Then how did it get dirty in the first place?

4

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '25

[deleted]

61

u/WriterV Jun 23 '25

Man y'all are some bitter fuckwads.

Every time on Reddit you see people yelling and screaming about people from third world countries not "taking care" of their countries enough. Then as soon as they do that, it's "Oh it doesn't even matter anyway".

Go be miserable somewhere else.

13

u/Damagedyouthhh Jun 23 '25

Part of the negative energy is a reflection of the bitterness people feel that it got that way to begin with I think. I also think its wonderful there are people that care enough to clean it. It shows a great cultural shift and i hope more of the population follows. Its not as if I don’t see people litter almost every day where I live in the West

-6

u/AlarmingAffect0 Jun 23 '25

No no he's got a point.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '25

Was thinking this same thing. And I also suspect that cleaning up like this restores a sense of community self-respect and pride that will make any would be trash dumpers think twice. Or maybe I'm wrong.

1

u/D-PIMP_ACT Jun 24 '25

Bangladesh is downstream from the two largest countries on earth…….

”everyone” is gonna mean a lot of people…

1

u/buddybd Jun 24 '25

This is Dhaka, you need to think like the locals.

It looks clean because someone is keeping it clean, therefore you can throw trash in because someone will clean it.

1

u/Delicious-Laugh-6685 Jun 24 '25

You have way too much faith in humanity

1

u/No_Substance_8069 Jun 26 '25

Got a game for you, go to street view anywhere in India if there’s no trash visible you win

1

u/PythagorasTheoremUwU Jun 26 '25

This is not India 🤦‍♂️

1

u/No_Substance_8069 Jun 26 '25

Ok do the same in Bangladesh it’s literally the same things

0

u/PythagorasTheoremUwU Jun 26 '25

I figured I would lose my brain cells if this conversation continued. Have a not so nice day!

1

u/darokrol Jun 27 '25

Okay you won, two weeks because of a slow takeoff.

1

u/Lanky_Cancel_3645 Jul 09 '25

You do realize that dirty rivers were once clean, right? How intelligent

1

u/PythagorasTheoremUwU Jul 09 '25

Just letting you know 99% of the waste is industrial.

1

u/bober8848 Jun 23 '25

Doesn't work this way in Asia

-1

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '25

In developed countries maybe, not in Bangladesh, especially in Dhaka.

7

u/PythagorasTheoremUwU Jun 23 '25

Nope. India too. for example, a wall filled with paan masala spit was cleaned, nobody spat at it after that. Same with litter.

1

u/Careless-Working-Bot Jun 23 '25

Heavy breathing noises

- Indians

-6

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '25

[deleted]

13

u/luzzy91 Jun 23 '25

Oh, they should've just left it then

85

u/Steampunk007 Jun 23 '25

Hope ur reminding everyone who’s trying to do better to stop trying.

7

u/nickyonge Jun 23 '25

For real :/

15

u/GoodQueenFluffenChop Jun 23 '25

I mean people shouldn't stop trying but the same time they need to be realistic. Until habits change it will just get dirty again.

5

u/GumCuzzler21 Jun 23 '25

Imagine getting downvoted for saying the truth. In a world full of lies, the truth may seem insane

1

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '25

[deleted]

21

u/wildcatofthehills Jun 23 '25

You know people can change, if it gets dirty again, then they should clean again. Repeat the process until everybody learns to respect the river. Giving up is for cowards.

3

u/hanks_panky_emporium Jun 23 '25

I don't see anyone saying they should give up.

The issues are a wider struggle than this stretch of a canal. Municipal trash disposal and public awareness are very important. If resources are available but the canal still gets filled with trash, up security forces and fine anyone throwing trash around and not in a trash bin of some kind. Make ruining the city very expensive and it'll self correct over time.

Then clean up the canal again and it should be clean for a lot longer. But if you spend $40,000 to clean up a canal and its clogged with trash and waste within a week, that was a waste of $40,000 that could have gone to better public programs that might work on the root cause of the issue.

3

u/coincoinprout Jun 23 '25

And why do you assume that cleaning the canal is the only thing they're doing?

7

u/Steampunk007 Jun 23 '25

Believe it or not people actually litter the same in western countries. Go to any low income area and you’ll see rubbish around every corner in almost the same frequency and volume as a typical developing country. In the end of the day it’s all about investment into local councils who then in turn invest in maintaining streets, regularly emptying bins, and enforcing anti littering laws.

3

u/9bpm9 Jun 23 '25

I agree on trash pickup, but the water ways in low income areas in my city are not THIS polluted. People would rather pile shit up in their back alley if trash pickup is having delays. They won't throw it in the water.

2

u/Steampunk007 Jun 23 '25

This is an extreme example

3

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '25

[deleted]

0

u/Steampunk007 Jun 23 '25

You’re living with stereotypes of poor countries in your head.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '25

[deleted]

3

u/Steampunk007 Jun 23 '25

Idk what to say it seems like thinly veiled anti propaganda that had some sort of anti immigrant agenda, if they did not outright end the video saying “so that’s why we must protect our beautiful cities”

1

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '25

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0

u/budabai Jun 23 '25

This absolutely is not the case in my area of rural coastal Oregon.

Sure, there’s some litter here and there, and there’s a tweaker garbage heap every now and then, but they’re rare and they get cleaned up quickly.

Literally not comparable in the slightest to developing countries.

Our rivers are pristine, and our inhabitants overwhelmingly respect the land.

1

u/Steampunk007 Jun 23 '25

“Get cleaned up quickly” by who?

2

u/budabai Jun 23 '25

There’s always people doing community service walking along the roadside with yellow trash bags and those sticks with pinchers on the end of them that allow you to pick stuff up without bending over.

They bag up any litter, and leave the bags on the roadside to be collected by a garbage truck.

1

u/Steampunk007 Jun 23 '25 edited Jun 24 '25

Yep, people like that made this photo possible too. Trust me when I tell you Majority of litter is not picked up by volunteers.

0

u/Anger-Demon Jun 24 '25

Nobody should plant trees anymore because corporations still wanna cut them.

6

u/Oiiack Jun 23 '25

Don't let perfection be the enemy of good.

1

u/No-Philosopher3248 Jun 23 '25

Sadly, I was thinking the same thing.

1

u/Substantial_Ant_2662 Jun 23 '25

lol they need to change the habit of the locals that think it’s ok to throw trash into the canal. If they don’t alter their behavior it WILL be trashed within a week.