City-dwellers have no immediate relief from rainwater stagnation as relevant agencies are still engaged in shifting responsibilities to one another instead of finding ways of resolving the nagging problem.
As such, expert suggest a coordinating body to run activities of several dozen service-providing agencies in cohesive manner as a way resolving this and many other problems the residents suffer for overlapping authority in decision making.
Although the two main agencies-- Dhaka WASA and the bifurcated Dhaka city corporation--have implemented some projects, those have hardly had any visible outcome mainly due to lack of coordination among the government organisations concerned.
Officials concerned, experts and urban planners pointed out inadequate drainage system, gradual disappearance of natural drainage system due to rapid population growth, unplanned urbanisation, encroachment upon lakes and water bodies, and indiscriminate disposal of solid waste into the drains as the main reasons for the city getting waterlogged at every rainfall.
The capital's drainage system is mainly operated by Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DWASA) and the two city corporations - Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) and Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC). Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) is responsible for protecting the wetlands and floodplains around the city wherein rainwater is discharged.
However, DWASA managing director (MD) Taqsem A Khan claimed his agency's responsibility to look after only 25 per cent of the pipelines of the total 2,000-km storm-water drainage which falls under the city corporations.
He told the FE that condition of 360 kilometres of WASA drains is "absolutely fine" and that no one questions about the rest the 75 per cent drains.
"There is nothing like water-logging in Dhaka rather it is water-congestion which is not a severe kind of problem," said the WASA boss.
He said box culverts damaged the city's drainage system while the filling up of canals, low-lying areas and floodplains around the city rendered it 'bucket of water'.
The DWASA chief suggested opening up all the flood-flow zones, recovering the low-lying areas, stopping pumping out extra rainwater and taking up the control of the city into one hand.
Mr Khan said, "A water-producing and-distribution company never does the work of draining out water anywhere in the world, not even in Chittagong and Khulna."
The water-logging problem is looked after there by the city corporations, he added.
Dhaka Met Office recorded 79mm rainfall in the city on June 25. Twelve millimetres of rain fell from 6:00am till noon, but from noon to 6:00pm 67mm rain fell.
According to DWASA, the existing drainage system of the city has the capacity to get rid of 20mm rainfall at a time. The drainage system gets clogged if rainfall exceeds 40mm.
Residents, however, accuse the government of not taking steps to mitigate the water-logging problem before the rainy season. But, unfortunately, there is no coordination among the service- providing agencies.
Seeking anonymity, a senior Rajuk official said there was a plan to dig two lakes --100ft and 200ft--on both sides of the 300-foot road linking Purbachal Newtown project as retention channels.
"But WASA still has not shown any interest for this," he said.
"Shifting blame is very common here although most entities along with many in the private sector are making development schemes violating the DAP," he added.
WASA operates two permanent storm-water-pump stations at Dholaikhal and Kalyanpur of the capital. These two stations have the capacity to pump out 22,000 and 20,000 litres per second respectively.
On the other hand, Goran-Chadbari pump station under Bangladesh Water Development Board has the capacity to pump out 22,000 litres per second and its extension (another 22,000 litres per second) is under process.
But the city-development authority, Rajuk, has been continuously filling up low-lying areas in the name of housing projects blocking the source of natural drainage system, experts noted.
About his immediate step to resolve this problem DNCC mayor Annisul Huq said he had visited many parts of the city and identified where the problems exist.
"I have already instructed the local councillors for brainstorming and asked them to evict where the land is blocked, where solid waste has been accumulated, where the housing companies have occupied land," said Mr Huq.
"No magic" can solve the present problem of Dhaka, the mayor quipped.
"I will sit with my engineers soon. After that I will sit with WASA engineers with the suggestions that would come up from the DNCC meeting," he said.
Regarding any step to recover the low-lying areas that are filled up and grabbed by government, housing companies and individuals, the new mayor observed that many influential people, big companies are involved here.
"I will at least sit with them and try to do something, whatever happens," he said.
Talking on the issue, additional chief engineer of DSCC Nurul Amin said the problem of water-logging largely arises because of the poor maintenance of the drainage system by the WASA.
He said city corporations are responsible for maintaining 75 per cent of the capital's total drainage system, which is called surface drains.
"We connected those lines to the WASA's main line, which accounted for 25 per cent. But poor maintenance of the lines causes water congestion that leads to the temporary inundation."
He further said a city should have 10 to 12 per cent water-retention ponds. Generally rainwater passes through these retention ponds into canals. But Dhaka now has only three to four per cent retention ponds.
But architect Mobashwer Hossain holds a different view on the conundrum: no service-providers do discharge their responsibilities properly except for blaming each other.
"If the existing drainage system is properly taken care of, the present water-logging or congestion will be reduced by 50 per cent instantly," he said.
The surface drains are filled up and blocked with solid waste which the city corporations do not clean regularly, he noted.
On the other hand, a 15-diametre box culvert at Dholaikhal has shrunk to about four feet as solid waste has become concrete there barring smooth water flow and it has never been cleaned up by WASA.
He suggested merger of WASA and city corporations into one or bringing the 52 service-providing organizations under seven ministries under one umbrella to protect the city.
"Otherwise, temporary water-logging will turn into a permanent one and compel the government to abandon the city," he said about the ultimate.
Another urban planner, architect Khondaker M Ansar Hossain, said the projects undertaken by WASA are hardly made public for which it is difficult to assess the real situation and progress.
"Yet it can be said Dhaka city is totally dependent on urban artificial drainage system as natural drainage system has been closed."
WASA has drainage system in one-third area of Dhaka and they have no activity in the rest of the areas. Of the 360-km drainage of WASA, one-third has already been blocked permanently, for example, with box culverts.
He observed the intake point of the box culverts are either very small or have been blocked for which rainwater cannot enter the culverts.
So all the box culverts should be demolished and canals opened up, the canal network activated, the flood-flow zones reopened, and the water-retention area recovered.
And implementation of the DAP (Detailed Area Plan), which looks like a far cry, is his final suggestion.
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Saving Dhaka from rainwater stagnation now a tough task
Kamrun Nahar & Jubair Hasan | Published: July 04, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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