Dhaka may witness severe water-logging this year as the capital's poor drainage system has not been improved yet. Reportedly, construction and renovation of some big drainage projects in Dhaka that started in October last year have not been completed up until now, sources said.
Experts are of the opinion that lack of coordination and planning coupled with slow progress of drainage construction work are the main barriers to sustainable solution of the city’s waterlogging problem.
Dhaka’s water-drainage system is only capable of dealing with 20mm of rainfall where in most of the areas the rainfall often exceeds 40mm.
Moreover, most of the drains remain clogged with dirt and debris. Hence, a considerable part of our capital city collapses within a few hours of rain. Experts assert that unplanned urbanisation and poor drainage system are the major reasons for the existing waterlogging problems in the capital.
We do not want to learn the way how to live
being water-logged rather we want to manage
the problem in a way so our life is not disturbed
too much because of rain and waterlogging
The natural drainage system in Dhaka comprises of several canals and floodplains which have been grabbed or filled up with illegal dumping of waste.
Moreover, real estate developers have been indulging in a competition to haphazardly fill up low lands through which excess water used to go to the nearby rivers.
Improper maintenance of existing drainage system has also aggravated the situation. But efforts on the part of the city authorities have not been enough fruitful to address and fix the problems.
Dhaka needs a proper drainage system in which the canals, flood plains and rivers would be connected to carry excess water within hours.
In order to mitigate the waterlogging problems; the city must restore its natural drainage system through evicting the illegal grabbers of the city canals.
We believe Dhaka still has not reached the stage where it must accept that waterlogging is inevitable. We do not want to learn the way how to live being water-logged rather we want to manage the problem in a way so our life is not disturbed too much because of rain and waterlogging.
It is said that Dhaka’s waterlogging problem can be fixed. What is needed now is a concerted and well-deployed move fuelled by adequate allocation of resources.