Sylhet City Corporation is prioritising waterbody recovery: Administrator

Sylhet City Corporation (SCC) Administrator Abdul Qayyum Chowdhury has said that special emphasis is being placed on recovering waterbodies to protect city residents from the hardship caused by floods and waterlogging.

He said several waterbodies in the city have already been restored.

Despite various obstacles and challenges, the initiative will continue to ensure the safety of city residents.

He made the remarks as the chief guest at the inaugural session of a workshop jointly organised by SCC and SNV Netherlands Development Organisation at a hotel hall in the Dargah Gate area of the city on Wednesday (September 2) morning.

The programme was moderated by Mosammat Rahima Begum, cluster coordinator of SNV’s ‘Sustainable Transformation of Urban Water Cycles’ project. Among others, SCC Chief Engineer (Acting) Md Ali Akbar, Chief Property Officer Padmasan Singh, Regional Executive Officer (Zone-2) Sumon Chandra Das, Chief Waste Management Officer Lt Col (Retd) Mohammad Eklim Abdin, and other relevant officials spoke at the event.

Abdul Qayyum Chowdhury said there were once around 900 ponds and waterbodies in Sylhet city.

Over time, many of these waterbodies have been filled in and structures built on them. As a result, only a small portion of the city’s waterbodies remain. At the same time, the Surma River’s water-holding capacity has also declined significantly compared with the past.

He said waterlogging used to occur in different parts of the city after even short periods of rainfall. In many cases, water would enter people’s homes, causing severe hardship for residents.

The administrator said the city corporation has begun working with greater emphasis on improving the city’s drainage system. Alongside cleaning drains and canals used as waterways, improvements are also being made to the drainage network.

The benefits of these initiatives are already becoming evident, he said.

He said that although waterlogging occurred in various cities across the country following heavy rainfall this year, Sylhet city did not experience a similar situation.

He described this as a positive outcome of the city corporation’s ongoing efforts.

The SCC administrator also said that a major project costing Tk 4,635 crore has been undertaken to provide city residents with permanent protection from floods and waterlogging.

He said that once the project is implemented, it will bring significant changes to Sylhet city’s drainage and waterlogging management systems. It is hoped that the initiative will permanently relieve city residents of the suffering caused by floods and waterlogging.