Feature

Industrial visit by SESM students of IUB

Shehrina Haque

Ateam of 21 students and two faculties from School of Environmental Science and Management, Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) recently went on an industrial visit to Karnaphuly Paper Mills Limited and Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited.

The trip was filled with excitement, fun and it was a thoroughly educational one as well. We went as part of our studies to correlate what we study in class to the reality of the environment situation in Bangladesh. The journey started from Campus 3 of Independent University (IUB) in Baridhara. We were so excited that before we realized how much time had passed, we reached our hotel in Chittagong. The hotel was quite luxurious and we rested for the day. After a quick break-fast next morning, we headed for Karnaphuly Paper Mills (KPM). Once we entered the factory, we were enthralled by the vast compound with an abundance of green all around. We were greeted by Mr. Mosharraf Hossain on behalf of KPM who gave us a tour of the factory and explained the whole process of making paper from trees. We were amazed at how long the process of paper making was but impressed by the care that everyone at KPM took to making high quality paper. We certainly were impressed at the knowledge shown by our guide at KPM. As environmental science students, we were obviously interested in pollution issues and were glad to learn that the process of paper making at KPM has a chemical recovery of 92% which is impressive for a country like Bangladesh. We also had a frank question and answer session at the end of our trip, where the KPM officials answered all our questions frankfully and truthfully which helped us better understand the problems facing an industry like KPM with regard to environmental issues.

Our next destination was Berger Paints where we were shown around the whole premises. They had modern facilities for quality control and had modern computer with software and hardware for color detection. We were also very impressed that the workers were adequately dressed for the hazardous job that they do at the factory. We were glad to see the effluent treatment plant at Berger Paints and were pleased to know that the officials were trying their hardest to minimize the effect of the factory on the environment.

Next morning, we headed back to Dhaka with everyone exhausted from the tight but exciting schedule. All in all, the whole trip was again an enlightening one and I thank the official of both KPM and Berger paints and also my instructors from IUB, Dr. Abdul Khaleque and Mr. Ayaz Rabbani for their constant guidance during the trip. As environmental science students, it really helped us understand the' real' picture of the issues being faced by industries in handling environmental pollution.

(Student of School of Environmental Science and Management, IUB)