This daily on Friday carried a photograph that illustrated knee-deep waterlogging in Chattogram, once a healthy city. The problem has remained unresolved for the last two decades due to lack of proper sewerage facilities and unplanned infrastructural development. The main causes leading to this problem are the more than 1,500 illegal structures in the city that obstruct the free flow of stormwater. These structures include concrete buildings, shanties, tin-shed houses, graveyards and crematoriums. The city authorities over the years spent millions of taka to fix the problem, however, eventually it only became severe.
Though a number of initiatives have been taken over the years to address Chattogram city’s waterlogging problem, many of those have apparently gone down the drain due to a lack of coordinated efforts by the government departments concerned. The city’s canals and drains have to be recovered from the occupation of grabbers. In Chattogram, tidal water adds to rainwater. Moreover, an onrush of water from the sea carries sand, which deposits and contributes to filling up the drains and canals. The city is fitted with a faulty and outdated drainage system. Furthermore, waste disposal is an issue that needs to be addressed without delay. Plastic waste, in particular, is rarely disposed of properly. Usually thrown onto the street, this plastic waste then goes to clog the drains, causing the filthy water to spill and flood the streets.
The authorities over the years made assurances of effective steps to solve the waterlogging problem. Those at the helm of the city change from time to time, budgets are allocated, assurances repeated, works done, but the problem remains as it is. To address the waterlogging problem, tidal regulators and water retention points should be installed. Taking into consideration the multi-dimensional nature of the problem, an integrated approach involving concerned government departments is needed under the leadership of the city mayor. Without an integrated and result-oriented action, the problem would never be fixed.
