No end to water stagnation

Most of the areas in Dhaka city remained under water on Tuesday due to the torrential rain which began on Sunday night bringing untold sufferings to its two crore residents as projects taken in recent years could not solve the problem of waterlogging. 

Agencies however blamed each other and even nature as well as the city dwellers for waterlogging while urban planners and architects blamed the authorities for their piecemeal measures, failure to install uninterrupted drainage network and ensure their proper management.

The urban experts said that the agencies, including Dhaka WASA, Dhaka South City Corporation and Dhaka North City Corporation, Water Development Board and RAJUK had expended several hundred crores of taka in the last three years in a piecemeal way without any accountability.

Dhaka North city mayor Md Atiqul Islam admitted that the problems intensified as drainage network in Dhaka were not integrated.

‘I would request the government to marge Dhaka WASA drainage division with City Corporation for developing drainage following an integrated approach,’ said the mayor.

Architect Iqbal Habib said that the agencies took a number of projects without creating uninterrupted drainage network and   management of city wastes and canals.

‘Projects without proper planning and coordination have transferred crisis from one place to another without solving anything,’ he said.

Iqbal Habib further said that these muddled projects might have benefited officials but did not solve problems. They were a complete waste of public money, he added.

Dhaka WASA’s two projects of over Tk 1,200 crore taken in 2018, and still under  implementation, while each city corporations has been spending several hundred crore each year since 2017 as top minister of the agencies promised to end waterlogging.

Its Tk 645 crore project titled ‘Land acquisition, excavation and re-excavation of Hazaribag, Baishteki, Kurmitola, Begunbari and Manda Khal Project’ still remains on papers, said officials.

DNCC chief engineer Brig Gen Muhammad Amirul Islam said that the DNCC spent over Tk 250 crore for 250 drainage lines while the city corporation dug Kashaibari canal spending Tk 135 crore.

Both city corporations spent over Tk 500 crore for maintaining and repairing their drainage system under different projects, said officials.

WASA officials found that the DSCC and the DNCC build surface drainage but failed to create outfall.

Department of meteorologist in Dhaka recorded 87 millimetres rain in the last 24 hours till 6:00am and 22.6mm rain in the last 12 hours till 12:00pm.

Meteorologist Md Aftab Uddin, quoting the forecast, said that the same amount of rain might continue in the next 72 hours in Dhaka and elsewhere in Bangladesh.

‘Intensity of rain might increase,’ he said, quoting the record.

Residents alleged that the agencies however dug their roads several time for drainage construction but failed to solve the problem of water stagnation.

Bangladesh Institute of Planners president and also Jahangirnagar University professor Akter Mahmud said that piecemeal efforts would never end waterlogging.

‘Implementation of Dhaka WASA’s drainage master plan and the maintenance of drainage network can ease problem, he said.

Akter Mahmud also said that the ground causes of waterlogging in Dhaka were the reduction of wetlands through earth filling, grabbing of canals and non-implementation of the drainage master plan.

Capital’s Mirerbagh area resident Irani Bilkis Khan said that the ground floor of her house was now under three feet water, although Dhaka WASA had replaced the drainage lines of her area three months back.

Dhaka WASA director AKM Shahid Uddin said that the DNCC constructed drainage line at Mirerbag and connected its outfall to Rampura Khal instead of Hatirjheel.

‘Now water level at the canal is high so water of the area was not draining out,’ he said.

He added that as water level of the rivers surrounding the capital was high at present, they would have to pump out water to end stagnation for the time being.

Waterlogging has affected many more areas since the rain began. People at Mirerbagh, Tejgaon, Kathalbagan, Dhanmondi, Rajarbag, and some areas adjacent to Hatirjheel have been suffering due to inundation.

Areas in front of the National Parliament, WASA Bhaban and Nagar Bhaban were overrun with rainwater mixed with sewerage water.

Like Manik Miah Avenue, Mirpur Road, Kazi Nazrul Islam Road and many other roads and businesses went under polluted water due to the rain, causing acute suffering for office-goers and other commuters.

The commuters found it difficult to reach workplaces on time as rains started around the time they leave for work.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net