Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DWASA) on Tuesday signed a Euro 7.5 million deal with Vitens Evides International, a Netherlands-based organisation, for urban dredging demonstration, aiming to address the problems of urban flooding and water-logging in the capital. Dwasa managing director Engr Taqsem A Khan and regional director (Asia) of Vitens Evides International Ad Doppenberg signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on behalf of their respective sides at a city hotel in the morning.
The MoU was signed under the Urban Dredging Demonstration Project (UDDP). The objective of the project is to reduce flooding in the city’s urban areas with demonstration of technologies and dissemination of dredging expertise to the drainage department of Dwasa and improvement its capacity to carry out the drainage operation.
Since Dwasa experiences water stagnation every year during monsoon, it badly needs a well functioning system for storm water drainage. The project will clean up some of the larger drains in Dhaka using the latest technology used in the Netherlands.
Floating bulldozers will be used to take all the mud and silt out of the drains so that rainwater during heavy rains can freely flow into the canals and rivers.
Under the project, the drains-Segunbagicha Box Culvert and Kallyanpur canal-will be cleaned up first and then operators and contractors of Dwasa will be trained. Dwasa will progressively clean up all of its drains over the next 10 years.
The project will also actively collaborate with people living near these canals to motivate them not to throw solid waste anymore in these canals. The project will also adopt one area along to the canals as example for a beautification programme.
Dwasa and Vitens Evides International will provide 26 per cent and 3 per cent of the total project implementation cost.
-With UNB/The Independent input
