Ctg water logging as master plan not implemented

Pankaj Dastider | Published: April 08, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

CHITTAGONG, Apr 7: Only 94mm rainfall, the first of the season on Monday, played havoc with life flooding half the Chittagong city areas.
Low-lying areas of Chakbazar, Bakolia, Kapashgola, Mohammedpur, Muradpur, Bahaddarhat, Probortak Circle, Agrabad, Halishahar and most parts of the CDA Avenue, the main thoroughfare of the city, went under knee-deep and waist-deep water. The water receded after the rain had stopped on Monday evening.
The rainwater coupled with tidal surge causes immense sufferings to the people every monsoon and it is a regular seasonal phenomenon. Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) and other government agencies are responsible for the people's sufferings as they did not take up schemes to save the people from water-logging.
After being elected CCC mayor in June 2010, M Manjur Alam said his first task would be addressing the city's water logging problem. He had also undertaken schemes on short, medium and long term basis for addressing the same.
When asked, the former CCC mayor said it was not water-logging, it was water-clot. The water recedes as soon as the rain stops, as he dressed up a good number of drains in the last five years.
Not only rainwater, flooding is also caused by tidal water overflowing the canals in the city areas.
Though five years have passed, the plight of six million people remains unchanged.
Former Minister for Environment and Forests and Awami League publicity secretary Dr Hasan Mahmud said the government had allotted Tk 1,120 million for the purpose over the last five years. The immediate-past mayor would have to explain to the voters where that money had been spent.
Professional engineer and town planner Ali Ashraf said to alleviate the problem of drainage and water logging in the city, the Storm Water Drainage and Flood Control Master Plan 1995 contained some specific short and long-term proposals.
He said that the study area was divided into 12 distinct geographical divisions. Out of them, three divisions were left out considering the factor that the divisions were not expected to be developed within the planned period of 1995-2015.
Specific proposals were made for each of the remaining nine divisions.
Since gazette notification on the Flood Control Master Plan in 1999, 15 years had elapsed without any visible progress in implementation of the plan, Engineer Ali Ashraf added.
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