Save Dhaka from water logging

With 130mm of rainfall in six hours from 6:00am to 12:00pm on Friday (12 July), many roads in the capital remained flooded until Saturday morning. Recently, if it rains for a short period of time, waterlogging occurs in different parts of the capital. The city dwellers suffered greatly for this reason.

It is known from the news published in the newspaper yesterday (13 July) that, A large part of the capital was under water due to continuous rain. Flooding has been seen on main roads. All lanes turned into rivers. This is a common scenario in Dhaka in the rainy day. The city is turning into an unlivable city gradually.

Years go by, ministers and mayors change, yet the waterlogging situation in Dhaka remains the same in monsoon. It seems to have become a rule that several parts of the city will be under water whenever it rains heavily. On February 12 last year, the mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation, Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, said in an event that, "even if it rains heavily during the monsoon this year, the water will be drained within 15 minutes." But when it rains in the capital, the water does not move in 24 hours.

Sources of Dhaka Wasa and City Corporation claim, at least 3 thousand crores of rupees have been spent on waterlogging in last one year. The two city corporations of Dhaka have spent at least Tk 700 crore in three fiscal years after taking over from Dhaka WASA. But what is the result? Dhaka dwellers has been suffering from the same deluge in any light downpour.

The urban planners are saying lack of an integrated plan in activities of the two city corporations to reduce people suffering from waterlogging is quite evident. The situation yesterday once again proved that. What the two city corporations are doing are temporary arrangements only. They are spending money without paying any heed to the mega plan for the city drainage system. It’s not possible to resolve waterlogging without long-term initiatives.

We urge the authorities concerned to take measures to address the issue immediately. If this situation continue year after year, over and over, Dhaka should be declared an abandoned city. But Dhaka is our capital city, it must be protected at any cost.