DHAKA WATERLOGGING Agencies trade blame

Both the city corporations in the capital and Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority now trade blame over waterlogging in the city as people in many areas have been suffering for stagnant water after downpour on Wednesday.
Urban planners and experts have asked the city corporations and the DWASA to stop the blame game and observed that by doing so they are only avoiding their responsibility when they jointly manage city drainage system.
What has complicated the situation further is the grabbing of the 43 canals in the city by influential quarters, who have raised structures on the canals, hindering free flow of water.
Locals of Malibagh, Khilkhet, Dholaipar and Matuail have alleged that rain water from their areas did not recede even in 48 hours since Wednesday as the drainage system in the area has collapsed, garbage clogging the drains.
To address the crisis, architect Mubasshar Hussain suggests bringing all city services under a single entity, preferably under the city corporations as they are directly accountable to the people.
‘All 54 agencies under seven ministries providing city services should be made accountable to the city corporation to ensure better services,’ says Mubasshar.
Dhaka south city mayor Mohammad Sayeed Khokon, during a visit to the water-logged areas of the city on Wednesday, blamed the DWASA for the miseries of people.
‘People suffer for the failure of the DWASA which is responsible for drainage,’ he said while visiting Sobhanbag area.
He also blamed the DWASA officials for not even visiting the affected areas as they were not serious about it.
Bangladesh Institute of Planners general secretary Akhter Mahmud says that city drainage management is one of the prime responsibilities of the DWASA since 1989 while city corporations build some surface drains beside their roads.
Prompted by the remarks of the DSCC mayor, DWASA managing director Taqsem A Khan said, ‘We are not responsible alone for the problems as the city drainage system is shared.’
In reply to another question, he said experts proposed handing over the drainage responsibilities to the city corporation in 1989 but unfortunately it was handed over to the DWASA from the Department of Public Health.
Since then, he said, none was individually responsible for the drainage system.
‘I handle water supply and sewerage management, not drainage,’ he explained, adding that his organisation was responsible for water supply and sewerage system, not for the drainage system.
He claimed that under WASA there were about 360 kilometres of drainage network while the two city corporations had a total of about 3,000 kilometres of drainage system.
He raised question about functions of the city corporations’ recent projects, costing Tk 500 crore, aimed to drain out rain waters through pipelines.
Taqsem, citing examples of other cities of the world, said the water supply authorities were not responsible for drainage management.
He also declined to agree that only drainage system was to be blamed for water stagnation.
As for the water-stagnation, Taqsem claimed that the water level outside the city was higher than inside, so the rain water needed to be pumped out.
He said he was ready to hand over the drainage management to the city corporations.
Dhaka north city mayor Annisul Huq, however, declined to take over the collapsed drainage system and would take its responsibility only it was restored.
Annisul also identified canal grabbing as the main cause of water-loggings in the city.
He said all 43 canals in the city were grabbed over the years which were the main means of draining out rain water.
In a coordination meeting held at DNCC office last week, government agencies decided to reclaim the canals.
Deputy commissioner of Dhaka Salah Uddin Ahmed told New Age that they prepared lists of the grabbers while demarcation process of the canals was on.
The mayor said they would start eviction of all grabbers immediately after completing the demarcation.
BIP president Professor AKM Abul Kalam asked the authorities not to take partial initiative for drainage system management to solve city water-logging, rather a drainage master plan should be worked out immediately.
He blamed lack of coordination among the government agencies for the water-logging. 

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net