It was quite a drama enacted over the city's water-logging problem at the inter-departmental coordination meeting, convened by the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) on last Sunday.
Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) Minister Engineer Khandoker Mosharraf Hossain, who was the chief guest at the meeting, blasted the Dhaka Water Development and Sewerage Authority (DWASA) for its failure to handle Dhaka City's ever-deteriorating water-logging problem. He wanted the city corporations to take over the responsibility of Dhaka's drainage management.
Apparently waiting for this opportunity rather eagerly, the managing director of DWASA, the organisation responsible for the city's drainage system, also was found willing to pass on the responsibility to someone else. It has become increasingly difficult for the WASA top bosses to digest the bitter criticism coming from all directions for its failure to rid the city of severe water-logging problem.
But DNCC Mayor Annisul Huq was smart enough to understand the situation. He declined to take the responsibility of city's drainage system. "I don't want take over the responsibility of a cancer patient", he said.
The LGRD minister only then assured the mayor of his full support to cure the patient. Two other key government policymakers--- Water Resources Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud and Housing and Public Works Minister Mosharraf Hossain---were also present at the coordination meeting.
People's representatives, policymakers, experts and officials present at the meeting could rightly point out the main causes of water-logging in Dhaka city. The LGRD minister held the DWASA primarily responsible for the current state of water-logging problem in Dhaka city.
The mayor of DNCC is particularly sensitive to the water-logging issue, for the city residents, knowingly or unknowingly, held the city corporation responsible for the water-logging problem.
The refusal to take over the drainage management by the DNCC mayor, thus, is based on justified reasons. When almost all the canals of Dhaka city were being either grabbed or filled up illegally, the DWASA preferred to remain an indifferent watcher. This entity does not even bother to clean the remnants of a few canals. The DWASA chairman, at the last Sunday's coordination meeting, claimed that his organization had been cleaning the canals regularly. The DNCC mayor, rightly contested the claim, saying that the ongoing state of the canals did not corroborate such a claim.
One has to accept the fact that it is almost impossible to make the city's drainage system entirely perfect because of the past neglect to it. Many canals do not exist anymore and it is not possible to retrieve them physically. Some can be recovered partially with all possible drastic efforts. Some can be easily restored fully if the agency concerned means business.
No matter whichever agency is given the responsibility of managing the city's drainage system it must enjoy all the powers to acquire land or dismantle any structure, pucca or kutcha, to ensure unhindered flow of waste or rain waters through canals, natural or otherwise.
Besides, the agency concerned must have all the equipment and manpower to keep the surface and underground drains clean all the time.
However, more than anything else, the relevant organization must have the will to perform. If that is not there, all the powers, logistics and manpower would be of no use. In most cases, grabbers of canals and water bodies are people who always identify themselves with the ruling political quarters. Usually, government agencies do not want to disturb them. For an effective drainage system, this section of people must not get any sympathy or concession.
It is rainy season now. Hence the issue of water-logging problem is a live issue. It is expected that all concerned would keep the problem alive in their memory during the dry season and do the needful to solve it.
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