Chattogram City Corporation Mayor Rezaul Karim Chowdhury said that the biggest problem of this city is waterlogging. Agrabad, Gosaildanga and Halishahar areas are already low lying areas, these areas get submerged during high tide. Moreover, when there is excessive rain during the monsoon season, tidal water and rain water merge into one another, causing severe waterlogging. Due to this waterlogging, the suffering of the people of the area is extreme. Due to non-completion of mega project of about 6 thousand crore taka by Prime Minister and non-excavation of soil for temporary dams in canals and drains for the sake of the project, the city dwellers are still not freed from the suffering of water congestion. Traders in Agrabad and Khatunganj, the country's largest consumer goods market, have faced heavy losses due to the inundation caused by Cyclone Sitrang this year. Around 500 warehouses of businesses have been submerged in tidal water. He called for the speedy completion of the mega project implemented by the CCC to get rid of this suffering.
He said that apart from the 36 canals of the mega project, there are 21 more canals in the city. Considering the need to restore these canals, CCC has already started the process of preparing the DPP for canal rescue and renovation.
CCC mayor said this while inaugurating the bridge to be built on the Mahesh Canal near Haji Mokhlesur Rahman Road in Gosaildanga Ward on Wednesday morning in the speech of the chief guest.
Gosaildanga Ward Councilor Md. Morshed Ali presided over the meeting. Panel Mayor Afroza Kalam, Councilor Zafarul Haider Sabuj, Reserved Councilor Ferdousi Akbar, Chief Engineer Rafiqul Islam, Additional Chief Engineer Kamrul Islam, Supervising Engineer Abu Saleh, Monirul Huda, Executive Engineer Biplab Das, Anwar Jahan, local Awami League leader Abdul Aziz Molla, Sheikh Md. Abdul Majeed, Ehteshamul Haque Shaheed, Qaiser Uddin, Omar Faruq, Masood Karim, Karena Begum Nizuli spoke.
CCC Mayor said, due to the construction of this bridge, we hope that the low-lying areas adjacent to Agrabad will get some relief from flooding. All service organizations including CCC, CDA and Chittagong WASA should work in coordination for the development of the city for the benefit of the people. Through this concerted action, the city dwellers will be spared from the suffering of floods.
He also emphasized on permanent embankment of tidal water inlets to prevent inundation.
The Mayor urged the tax payers to take interest in the process of setting taxes at a tolerable level through inconsistent house tax hearings through Ward-by-Ward Appeal Boards in the presence of local councilors, ignoring the futile attempts by a group to terrorize tax payers over house tax.
