Mayor \\\'surrenders\\\' to water-logging

Chittagong city Mayor M Manjur Alam has conceded that his four-year efforts to end water-logging have been proved ineffective by this year’s first showers inundated most city areas. Manjur had won the hearts of the port city dwellers and won in the 2011 mayoral polls, pledging to build a modern metropolis through various measures and solving the persisting water-logging problem. Since then, the Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) has re-excavated canals during the dry seasons but the water-logging problem has remained unsolved. Many city roads went under water after a 117 millimeter rain in nine hours on Sunday. The mayor said ‘Routine canal re-excavations are not a complete solution.’ He said it was essential to dig new canals. He believes there is no alternative to the implementation of the ‘Drainage Master Plan’, prepared by the corporation in 1995. Manjur visited several water-logged areas in the city. He apologised to the residents for the inconvenience caused, according to bdnews24.com.