Home ›› 12 Aug 2021 ›› Editorial
Both print and electronic media have been correctly drawing the attention of their readers and their audience with detailed reports as well photographs that depict the total helplessness of the nearly 19 million inhabitants of capital Dhaka as well as Chattogram as they face water logging throughout their cities.
The consequences have been serious, to say the least- particularly for the economic and manufacturing sector. It has affected employment opportunities and the sphere of connectivity. This unfortunate scenario has added a spike to the already existing problems created through the pandemic and there has been disruption in city life in all spheres - education, healthcare, transportation, office and business. It has also enhanced the chance of dengue spreading in the lower income urban areas.
The more than average rainfall has left most of the capital roads waterlogged most of the time. This has led to long tailbacks at crossroads. Knee-high or chest-high water levels on some of the busiest streets, including lanes and by-lanes, quite often, have paralyzed commuting. People have been stranded for hours at end in different localities of the city like Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Lalmatia, Dhanmondi, Karwan Bazar, Kakrail, Shantinagar, Moghbazar, Mouchak, Malibagh, Rampura and Badda. Rickshaws, when available, have blindly pedaled through the murky waters, some overturning with passengers due to hidden potholes.
Unless one has been fortunate to live on a street or in an area not inundated, for that person, Dhaka has sometimes become, for all practical purposes, a trap because of the poor drainage system. Such a situation has also apparently been true for many other parts of the country including the second largest city, Chittagong.
As expected, there have been comments from urban architects and the two elected Mayors of North and South Dhaka City Corporations. There have also been explanations from different authorities (including WASA) responsible for keeping the water, sanitation and drainage systems running in the capital and its surrounding areas.
The common denominators that have emerged include the following:
(a) Water logging is one of the after-effects of unplanned urbanization. Unless checked and corrected, soonest, the problem will deteriorate at a faster pace - mostly so because of geometrical growth in the capital's population due to migration of the rural youth population to the urban area in search of a better livelihood;
(b)A lack of coordination among the authorities responsible for maintenance of the drainage system. This includes 14 government agencies, including the two Dhaka City Corporations and Dhaka WASA- all of whom are responsible for the upkeep of the city's drainage system. Nevertheless, one needs to note that both Dhaka City Corporations are now using virtual and digital contact to try and resolve this growing crisis. Apparently, the Ward Councilors have been instructed by Mayors of both City Corporations within each jurisdiction to carry out intensive surveys and determine the sub-areas which are suffering from water logging and come up with ideas on how to contain water logging in their respective zones;
(c)There is no storm drainage system in nearly75 percent of the 370 sq. km Dhaka WASA area, not to speak of greater Dhaka which covers more than 1,500 sq. km;
(d) It appears that available surface drains measuring nearly 1,400 km are mostly clogged with solid waste or with washed in debris, particularly plastic products which do not disintegrate. Lack of civic responsibility in this regard has become a major factor. It has been found that this situation has deteriorated so much that sometimes even high-tech heavy machinery proves ineffectual in clearing the congestion. Manual clearances, sometimes hazardous, then need to be undertaken as have been exemplified in the case of HatirJheel area;
It may be recalled that the WASA authorities have installed some large-diameter storm-water drains between 2012-2014 in some parts of Gulshan, Dhanmondi, Mirpur and Uttara areas. But this was done in an isolated and fragmented manner. Consequently, the drainage systems do not function meaningfully. The media has reported that the relevant authorities have tried to facilitate drainage through open canals (totaling about 60 km). However, they are not functioning in the expected manner as storm-water carriers, because of waste dumping that has reduced their depth and also because of indiscriminate encroachment.
One can only hope that there will be a greater, coordinated pro-active effort between the public and the private sectors to ensure that businessmen as well as those associated with real estate do not contravene environmental regulations and undertake illegal initiatives that might endanger drainage of excess water, particularly during the rainy season; and agencies responsible for maintaining drainage do not always have the requisite trained personnel nor do they have the machinery required for this purpose at their disposal.
The aforementioned difficulties could probably be greatly overcome with the constitution of one single authority for the entire drainage aspect. It could then take necessary steps for increasing the frequency of drain cleanings and transporting the dirty silt for deposit in a designated area outside the capital, keeping in mind that such action does not endanger available surface water supply.
There is also general agreement that one of the important steps that need to be undertaken by the government is the recovery of designated flood plains and canals. If we continue to lose dedicated flood flow zones and water retention areas to land grabbers and real estate developers, the situation can only worsen. Such unplanned activity will also raise the threat level for planned urban development.
The Mayors of both Dhaka City Corporations have revealed that their Corporations are undertaking schemes in the near future to improve drainage in Gulshan, Banani and Baridhara areas- in the Northern portion of the city and also in Narinda, Wari, Sutrapur, Chowk Bazar and Banglabazar areas in the Southern portion of the city. Similar efforts have been promised in different parts of Chittagong city,
This can be done and an effective example is the manner in which the Manik Mia Avenue in front of the Jatiyo Sangshad has been resurfaced through a constructive approach.
However, in realistic terms, this effort on the part of the two City Corporations will also require coordination with several ministries who are involved in more ways than one in maintaining communication and roads within the capital. It will also necessitate extra funding, the expenditure of which needs to be accountable.
We need to remember that we have only four to five months of dry, winter weather before the season starts changing again. Consequently, the window of opportunity has to be availed of with greater seriousness. At this point one also needs to reiterate that the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) must take a more functional approach. They are also associated with the drainage process and need to be more proactive.
The relevant authorities should take the responsibility of pumping out additional rainwater inflow utilizing heavy pumps. Some of that has been witnessed this time in the case of Hatir Jheel. At the moment WASA operates four permanent water pumping stations in the capital. They are located in Kallyanpur, Rampura, and Kamlapur and Dholaikhal areas. The BWDB also has one pumping station at Goranchar Bari. There is a public demand for installing more pumping stations and increasing pumping capacity. The Ministries for LGRD and for Water Resources need to do this on a priority basis. If necessary, we should seek external multilateral financial assistance.
The writer, a former ambassador, is an analyst specialized in foreign affairs, right to information and good governance
