Why does money spent on river, canal excavation go down the drain

The Views Bangladesh published an editorial on May 24 noting that despite spending thousands of crores of taka, the navigability of the Old Brahmaputra River could not be restored. Even after the project’s deadline passed, the work remained incomplete, and crores of taka were embezzled. News reports revealed that after spending Tk 30 crore, the Old Buriganga channel has again turned into a garbage dump.

According to available information, Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) had taken the initiative to beautify the Old Buriganga channel like Hatirjheel. Around Tk 30 crore was spent on restoration and excavation of the channel. However, within just a year and a half, it has turned into a dump once again. There is little to no water flow. In addition to foul odors, the channel is now filled with water hyacinths and garbage, reverting this ancient waterway back to its former polluted state.

News of this kind frequently appears in the media—projects worth crores of taka going to waste. The question is: why does the money allocated for river, canal, or channel restoration and excavation literally "go down the drain"? Why does the work fail to produce results? Almost every year, we see canals in Dhaka and across the country being cleaned or reclaimed. But within a year, they turn into garbage dumps again. Just before the monsoon, the same canals are targeted again for reclamation efforts—meaning another budget, and more wasteful spending. Who is truly responsible for this?

Engineers from Dhaka South City Corporation say that unless indiscriminate dumping of waste is stopped, even spending hundreds of crores of taka will not yield sustainable results. That is exactly what happened in the case of the Old Buriganga channel. Due to a weak urban waste management system, the benefits of excavation did not last. But the real question is: who is responsible for stopping the dumping of waste everywhere? The general public in our country lacks awareness, and the government has not taken any steps to raise that awareness. People have not been given any social education, nor is there any legal system to prevent this behaviour.

In this densely populated city, people come from all over the country for various purposes, but they don’t consider the city their own. Many of them throw garbage right where they eat. Due to the lack of proper waste disposal systems nearby, they resort to dumping trash into the surrounding canals and rivers. Around Dhaka, residential areas are surrounded by shops and markets, and almost inevitably, all the waste from these markets ends up in the canals and rivers. Though we have heard for years about efforts to reclaim these water bodies, and the government has taken several initiatives, they have practically yielded no results.

A long-standing negative culture in our country is the tendency to blame one another. The government blames the people; the people blame the government—and real solutions never materialise. Due to various irregularities, funds for projects like river and canal excavation ultimately go to waste. But a country cannot function this way. This is like trying to fill a bucket full of holes.

Both the government and the public must become more aware of this issue. It is the government’s responsibility to take the lead in raising public awareness. At the same time, responsible citizens must pressure the government to ensure public funds are not wasted like this. After all, government money is ultimately the people’s money.