City dwellers unlikely to get rid of waterlogging during next monsoon

City dwellers are unlikely to get rid of waterlogging problem during the upcoming monsoon mainly due to non-completion of various development works and lack of coordination among agencies in dealing with the issue, urban experts have warned.
According to them, inadequate drainage system, poor maintenance of the canals and filling up of wetlands in and around the city may worsen the situation.
Residents of Dhaka city suffered from serious waterlogging problem even after a short spell of downpour last year. The problem continuously caused incalculable financial loss disrupting people's day-to-day life.
Since no major visible progress has been made so far, waterlogging problem may remain unresolved this year too, experts said.
The government agencies, involved in supervising water bodies, drainage system and rainwater discharge channels, include Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DWASA), Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), and Bangladesh Water Develo-pment Board (BWDB).
When contacted, DWASA Managing Director (MD) Engineer Taqsem A Khan said the authority is working with other stakeholders to minimise the waterlogging problem in the city.
"We are now doing our routine duties in this regard," said Mr Khan declining to elaborate.
Explaining the grounds to elaborate, he told the FE that DWASA would organise a meet-the-press within a few days to inform people of its activities including preparations for the upcoming rainy season.
According to sources, over 70 kilometres long 26 canals, around 360 kilometres of drains and 10-km long box-culverts are maintained by DWASA.
A WASA official said its regular activities include cleaning the drains and canals, repairing drains, construction of new drains where necessary and evicting illegal occupants.
He fears that excessive rainfall would cause waterlogging in the city.
"The existing drainage lines are well capable of discharging 15mm of rain in hour, but above this level of downpour will create problem," he said.
During the monsoon, many city areas like Motijheel, Farmgate, Bijoy Sarani, Nazimuddin Road, Tejkunipara and Nakhalpara go under knee-deep water even after short spell of rain, causing immense sufferings to the people from all walks of life including schoolchildren and working class people.
During recent visit to several areas in the capital like Dhanmondi 27, Mirpur, Paltan, Rampura and Banasree, it was found that roads were being dug for various types of development works like drain construction and road widening .
Sources said many of such activities are unlikely to be completed before the rainy season. As a result, the situation may worsen at that time. The rainy season usually begins from mid-June, but the country sees occasional downpour much ahead of it.
Regarding preparedness, a DSCC official said there are a total of 961.87km drains in its territory to discharge rainwater.
"We have already completed maintenance work on 120km of the total drains while restoration work on 155km drains is going on," he said. Meanwhile, urban experts were of the opinion that waterlogging situation would not be under the control of the authorities concerned due to their various shortcomings.
Architect Iqbal Habib said it has to be ensured that rainwater can reach rivers and other water bodies to get respite from waterlogging.
"Whatever measures the authorities take, rainwater must reach water bodies like rivers and canals through network of drains," he said, adding: "But still there is no coordinated and effective measures taken by them to ensure an efficient drainage network."
The expert also said various development works like road construction and utilities' installation across the city may add fuel to this problem this year.
While his attention was drawn to the improved situation in Shantinagar last year, he said: "Well, the problem was not solved. Actually, water was shifted to neighbouring areas".
He laid emphasis on taking a holistic approach to handle the situation.
Prominent urban expert Prof Nazrul Islam said measures to rapidly discharge rainwater should get top priority as the country faces heavy showers for long duration at stretch during the rainy season, besides occasional precipitations on other seasons.
"It seems that the agencies concerned cannot play their desired role or measures are not well-planned," he said.
He also said good governance in relevant offices, their skills and accountability need to be ensured to get the situation improved.
"Besides the government offices' role, city dwellers must play a sensible role by keeping the city clean," said Mr Islam, former chairman of University Grants Commission (UGC).
He also underscored the need for recovering the canals and keeping water flow unhindered to ease waterlogging in the city.
"It is quite possible to end waterlogging in Dhaka through implementation of proper planning," the urban expert said citing examples of some big cities like Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Kolkata which got rid of the problem through proper planning and its implementation.

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