Recurring water logging in the capital even after short duration rainfall exposes the authorities’ inability to plan and build a proper drainage system for the rapidly growing city.
Residents said that they had virtually nowhere to seek a solution to their sufferings caused by water logging on a rainy day, not to speak of the rainy season.Only thing they know, said angry residents, they cannot escape wadding through knee or waist deep water in various parts of the city even after moderate rainfall.
The residents complained that the authorities simply failed to adopt a comprehensive strategy to solve the menace of the city’s water logging.
As the drains are never cleaned properly stinking water overflows on the roads. The residents face this problem even when there are no rains.
The rainfall only exposes the claims of the two city corporations and Dhaka WASA regarding sanitation and upkeep of the city’s drains which simply don’t exist in many areas.
Water enters many houses in the low lying areas on a rainy day.
As usual, Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority said it already cleaned up its four pumping stations in the city to pump out excess water during rainy season to prevent water-logging.
Environmentalists blamed the authorities’ lack of vision and poor initiative for the distress caused by city’s recurring water logging.
Every year, they said, the authorities take similar and predictable initiatives only to aggravate the problem.
Residents said that they were tired of listening to the same old story that the city’s canals do not exist any more.
DWASA would prevent water logging in the city in the rainy days ahead, its superintending engineer A K M Shahiduddin said.
DWASA uses two permanent pumping stations, one each at Dholaikhal and Kallayanpur and two temporary pumping stations, one each at Rampura and Janapath to pump out excess water, he said.
DWASA cleaned all the pumps before May 31, to make them more effective during rainy season, spanning June and September, he said.
Cleaners were engaged also to clean up storm the drainage lines and box culverts, he said.
But any visitor could see that the removed garbage was dumped around the pumping stations.
The Rampura Pumping Station near Rampura Bridge, having nearly 50 pumps for pumping out excess water during the rainy season, was surrounded with household wastes.
The picture around the Janapath Pumping Station at Titipara in Kamalapur, with 11 pumps was no different.
This pumping station is supposed to cover a huge area including Motijheel, Secretariat, Malibagh, Moghbazar, Mouchak, Dainik Bangla, Fakirapool, Arambagh and Press Club.
A visitor could see that DWASA had indeed cleaned up the Ramchandrapur Canal at Mohammadpur but the sludge had been dumped on its banks.
Residents said that they had no doubts that the sludge would obviously choke the canal before long as it happened in yester years.
The canal’s slabs were mostly damaged near Nabodoy Housing and Mohammadia Housing facilitating dumping of household waste and the consequent pollution.
Bangladesh Poribesh Andalan secretary general Abdul Matin called it a common picture of the city during rainy season.
The obvious upshot is, he said, water logging.
He said that the roads were built in Dhanmondi, Kathalbagan, Shyampur, Rajabazar, Gopibagh, Rayerbazar and several city areas other by filling up canals.
Environmentalist said that Dholai Khal and several other canals simply disappeared from the city.
Where is the canal that ran from Kamalapur to Buriganga via Segunbagicha, Paribagh and Dhanmondi, they asked.
Now, they said, one can see clogged box culverts at some places due to poor maintenance
Shafiq Rahman a resident of Moghbazar area blamed inadequate drainage and poor maintenance for the city’s recurring water logging.
He said that the authorities simply failed to upgrade the drainage network to enable it to cope with rapidly growing city.
Overlapping or undefined responsibilities of DWASA, Dhaka South City Corporation, Dhaka North City Corporation and Bangladesh Water Development Board often waste more of their time on deciding who would do what than solving the city’s acute drainage problem.
WDB director Shawkat Alam said that the board cleaned up some pumps and canals to prevent water logging in the coming rainy season.
Water simply cannot pass through the surface drains as the city’s canals and drains are choked by waste, said DNCC executive engineer Rafiqul Islam.
-With New Age input
