10-yr dredging project launched to clean city canals

Dhaka WASA has launched a 10-year dredging programme to clean up canals and box culverts in the city to ensure smooth discharge of storm water to make the city free from urban flooding and water-logging, reports UNB.
Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) initiated the programme  Wednesday using modern Dutch technology and equipments to help reduce water-logging in the city. The programme has started under the partnership between Dhaka WASA and Vitens Evides International, Netherlands.
Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan formally launched the Urban Dredging Demonstration Project (UDDP) while Senior Secretary of the Local Government Division Monzur Hossain and Dutch Ambassador in Dhaka Gerben de Jong were present at the function, a WASA press release said Thursday.
The equipments, including floating bulldozers, excavators and micro-bulldozers, are being used in the cleaning work which was earlier done manually.
Dhaka WASA will continue the programme for the next 10 years to free the city from water-logging, the release said.
Dhaka City experiences water-logging each year during monsoon and is, therefore, heavily dependent on a well-functioning drainage system for storm water. Based on the water-logging experience in the Netherlands, Dhaka WASA and Vitens Evides International decided to start-up a dredging demonstration project to keep the drainage systems functioning smoothly.