CHATTOGRAM, May 31: The people of Chattogram suffer a lot due to waterlogging during the rainy season even though the government had taken several projects to solve the problem permanently in 2018.
As the projects have not been completed in four years, city dwellers continue to suffer for waterlogging during the rainy season.
The low-lying areas in Chattogram including Bakalia, Chandgaon, Bahadderhat, Chawk Bazar, Badurtala, Nasirabad, Halishahar, Patenga, Kattali, and Chaktai go under knee-deep water due to torrential rains for several hours. As a result, the residents of low-lying areas remain stranded for days.
Waterlogging is a common phenomenon in the port city during the rainy season. Inundation of low-lying areas disrupts normal life of city dwellers.
Businessmen at important business hubs of Chattogram including Chaktai, Khatunganj, Asadganj, Bahadderhat, and Muradpur also suffer financially as their business centres go under knee-deep water due to heavy rainfall.
The leaders of the Chaktai-Khatunganj Merchant Welfare Association have demanded the eviction of illegal structures built on the bank of Chaktai canal known as the 'sorrow of Chattogram'. They have also demanded the excavation of the canal and stopping dumping of waste into it.
Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Mahbubul Alam said, "Every year Chaktai and Khatunganj are inundated by rainwater and tidal water due to waterlogging during the rainy season."
"We want to get rid of waterlogging problem soon as Sheikh Hasina government has allocated a huge amount of money for the implementation of the mega projects. We want to know about the progress in the mega projects. We also want to know why the people of Chattogram are yet to be freed from waterlogging," he added.
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