Increasing death toll in Chattogram’s open canals

The body of six-month-old Seherish, who went missing after a battery-run autorickshaw fell into the Hijra Canal in the Kapasgola area under Chawkbazar Police Station, has been recovered.

On Saturday (April 19) at around 10:10 AM, the infant’s body was found floating in the Chaktai Canal, a few kilometers downstream from Kapasgola. Fire service personnel from the Chattogram station, assisted by local residents, recovered the body after being alerted.

The previous night, around 8 PM on Friday (April 18), a battery-operated autorickshaw carrying three passengers—Seherish, her mother Salma Begum, and grandmother—plunged into the canal. While Salma and her mother-in-law managed to climb out, the infant was swept away.

Search and rescue efforts were immediately launched, involving teams from the City Corporation, army, fire service, civil defense, and navy. Divers searched various parts of the canal until 3 AM. The navy resumed the search at 7 AM the next morning.

Locals said Seherish’s father, Md. Shahid, resides in the Asadganj area of the city. Salma Begum, the child, and her grandmother were visiting Shahid’s sister in Kapasgola. After getting off a CNG-run autorickshaw, they boarded a battery-operated one, which overturned and fell into the canal.

A witness stated that large heaps of waste had built up at various points along the Hijra Canal. While trying to maneuver the autorickshaw, the driver lost control and plunged into the canal. Although the two women escaped, the infant was swept away by the strong current caused by heavy rainfall that had begun citywide that evening.

He also pointed out that the canal runs directly alongside the road, which is commonly used by CNG and battery-powered autorickshaws. Due to ongoing work under a waterlogging mitigation project, a safety barrier along the canal had been removed—an absence that led to the tragic accident. The witness asserted that such an incident could have been prevented had the barrier been in place.

In response, Chattogram City Corporation Mayor Shahadat Hossain told reporters that safety barriers will be installed urgently alongside the canal.

Meanwhile, open canals across Chattogram have increasingly become death traps. One after another, such incidents continue to claim lives, with the death toll rising steadily. Despite each fatality being followed by public condolences and promises of compensation, authorities have failed to implement lasting safety measures.

In a previous incident, the body of an eight-year-old child was recovered from a canal between West Gosaildanga and Abidar Para under Bandar Police Station. That death, in June last year, was attributed to negligence by the Chattogram Development Authority. The child had fallen into an uncovered box culvert constructed under the waterlogging project while playing nearby.

On June 30, 2021, an autorickshaw fell into a drain in the Chashma Hill area of Soloshohor No. 2 Gate, killing both the driver and a passenger. Two months later, on August 25, a man died after slipping and falling into a fast-flowing canal while walking in the Muradpur area.

In September of that same year, university student Sadia drowned after falling into the Nasirchhara Canal. Her body was later retrieved by fire service personnel after clearing a pile of debris. She was 19.

Then in December, an 11-year-old child drowned after entering the Chashma Canal. His body was also recovered by fire service teams.

Critics allege that these canals remain in hazardous condition year after year. Even after multiple fatalities, authorities have failed to install railings or other safety measures. Offering condolences and monetary compensation to the bereaved families has proven insufficient. There is an urgent need to install protective barriers along all of Chattogram’s canals to prevent further loss of life.