CHATTOGRAM, Aug 27: Despite a Tk 60 billion (Tk 6,000 crore) project launched three years ago aiming to free the port city of water-logging during rainy season, the city-dwellers have not yet been freed from the decades-old problem, locals said.
Meanwhile, a businessman of the city drowned on Wednesday after he fell into a large drain and got carried away by rainwater.
The Chattogram Development Authority launched the mega-project in 2018 aiming to recover occupied lands of canals, excavate old water bodies, dig new canals on the recovered lands, construct new drains and renovate old ones to carry rainwater out of the city and build 12 sluice gates to dump rainwater into Karnaphuli River carried by the city canals and large drains.
However, there is not any development or any visible improvement of the situation till the fag end of monsoon this year as a few hours' shower left most part of the port city water-clogged on Thursday.
Sources said the Chattogram Development Authority (CDA) in association with Bangladesh Army has been executing the project.
Locals said, despite continuing implementation of the project for the last several years, the CDA has not been able to get the city's even a small part rid of water-logging, a perennial problem of the port city, the main commercial centre of the country.
Instead, the city-dwellers, including business people, said their sufferings from water-logging have increased many-fold in the current rainy season than before. They suffered unbearable woes during six consecutive days' of torrential rains in July and also have been suffering untold miseries.
The city's low-lying areas, including Chaktai, Sholoshahar, Bakalia, Bahadderhat, Chawk Bazar, Chandgaon, Nasirabad, Badurtala, Muradpur, Halishahar, Patenga and Kattali went under from knee-deep to waist-deep water due to the rain today. Thousands of families of these areas remained stranded for inundation for several hours.
Meanwhile, sufferings of business- people of the city's important business hubs, including Chaktai, Khatunganj, Assadganj, Bahadderhat and Muradpur, have increased significantly as their business establishments remained under knee-deep to waist-deep water for two consecutive days due to the late autumn rain on Wednesday and Thursday.
Leaders of Chaktai and Khatunganj Merchants' Welfare Associations demanded to evict illegal establishments set up by canal grabbers on both banks of Chaktai Canal, which they termed sorrow of Chattogram.
They also demanded to excavate damaged canals and dig new ones, and also take proper and stern measures to stop dumping of wastes, including polythene bags into the city's different canals.
President of Chaktai and Khatunganj Merchants' Welfare Association Solaiman Badsha told the FE on Thursday that traders of the prime business hubs of the country - Chaktai, Khatunganj, Assadganj, Korbaniganj - are suffering a lot due to frequent water-logging caused by rains this season. They have suffered losses worth multi-billion Taka due to water-logging this season.
Locals said that the port city has now turned a city of frequent water-logging. Even from a moderate rainfall makes the city water-logged due to a faulty drainage system, they said.
Rain water inundates the city's footpaths and roads as drain gets overflown even during a moderate shower. Most of the drains have been silted by mud of hills or filled up by wastes, including plastic objects, they stated. Siltation is heavily causing disruption in normal discharge of rain water, they added.
Selim Ahmed, a school teacher, said, "A normal rain is creating water-logging in the city's low-lying areas regularly. It takes several hours to get the water-clogged roads rid of water. In many places, water gets into residences which augments sufferings of the people, especially those living in low-lying areas."
Sources said, the five-kilometre-long Chaktai Khal (Chaktai canal) has been filled up with hilly mud and sands rolled down from upper stream of the canal. As a result, rain water over flows banks of the canal flooding its both sides causing immense sufferings to more than 0.5 million (five lakh) residents from Bahadderhat to Chaktai areas
Besides, three other city canals - Nasir Khal, Bahadderhat Khal and Hijra Khal - have been fully damaged either by canal grabbers or mud rolled down from upstream or dumping of pollutants into the water bodies by local people.
Experts said, most of the city drains have already been damaged due to the unplanned construction, land occupation and throwing of wastes into the drains by the locals.
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