Reza Mahmud :
The chance to recover the occupied canals is remote since the authorities have not taken any effective steps to recover bleak those for long.
Most of the city canals have been occupied by the influential persons which causes huge water logging in Dhaka after every rainfall.
Sources said the related departments blame each other for the failures of freeing canals from occupation.
“It needs a combined operations by Dhaka South and North City Corporations, Dhaka District Administration and Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DWASA) to recover city canals from the influential grabbers. But we find the authorities exchanging blames instead of taking fruitful actions. It made us completely disappointed on canal recovering issue,” M A Matin, the General Secretary of Bangladesh Paribesh Anodolon (BAPA) told The New Nation.
“We know that more than 63 canals were flowing through Dhaka city before independence. In the eightieths, there were more than 40 canals in the city. Nowadays, according to the authorities there are 23 canals, but in fact there are 10 to 12 canals,” the BAPA General Secretary said.
The illegal grabbers occupied most of the canals and constructed different types of installations for doing business.
But the authorities seemed helpless to take strict actions against those grabbers. As a result, the city residents suffer most after every heavy rains and during rainy season and other times.
Basila canal in Mohammadpur, Kalshi canal in Mirpur, Katasur canal, Kamrangirchar canal, Ramchandrapur canal in Rayerbagh, Basabo canal, Ibrahimpur canal in Mirpur-14, Dholaikhal, Kutubkhali canal in Dolairpar, Khilgaon canal, Nandipara canal, Shegunbagicha canal, Begunbari canal, Baunia canal and Rupnagar canals are occupied by the local influential persons.
Most of them constructed buildings, shops, workshops, and many other installations without showing any respect to law.
Apart from this, some of the government offices also grabbed canals illegally and constructed installations, said one of the senior officials of WASA.
Officials said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gave directions to concern authorities to take effective actions to make the canals free from illegal installations.
She also directed to open nine large box culverts and bring the canals to its previous natural shapes.
But no firm actions have yet been seen in this regards.
Officials sources also said that the Dhaka District administrations has prepared a list of 200 illegal grabbers of the city canals. The District administration sent the lists to the Dhaka South and Dhaka North City Corporations on January 18 this year. But till now, no strict action has been taken against those influential persons.
“Whenever we operate eviction drives and make the canals clear, the grabbers come back soon,” Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) Managing Director Engineer Taqsem A Khan told The New Nation.
Apart from this, “The unconscious people use to throw away their household and kitchen waste into the canals in spite of prohibited them in many times,”
Officials of the Dhaka WASA said, there are 26 canals in Dhaka city. Among them seven canals are in Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) area.
But a report of Dhaka district administration shows there are 50 canals in the city. Dhaka district administration said that there are in total 11 canals under the DSCC. They identified some canals divided into two parts and then concluded the numbers as 11.
When contacted, DSCC Mayor Mohammad Sayeed Khokon told The New Nation, “We shall take serious actions to make Dhaka free from water loggings. In this view, we have tread Nandipara-Trimohini canal in February this year. The city corporation will continuously conduct such drives to evict the illegal grabbers and free the canals.”
The DSCC has arranged a meeting in this regards at ‘Nagar Bhaban’ on Janury 22. Deputy Commissioner of Dhaka District and Managing Director of Dhaka WASA including other officials were present in the meeting.
The meeting took decision to recover Nandipara-Trimohini canal. It also decided to continually clean the canals to make those free from garbage to make water flow sharp in order to prevent water stagnant.
Urban specialist Professor Nazrul Islam said, it needs to form a ‘Super Authority’ to resolve problems of the capital city including making canals free, like Kula Lumpur.
In Kula Lumpur, Malaysia, there is a super authority headed by a Deputy Prime Minister to take necessary actions to resolve all major problems in the city.
The chance to recover the occupied canals is remote since the authorities have not taken any effective steps to recover bleak those for long.
Most of the city canals have been occupied by the influential persons which causes huge water logging in Dhaka after every rainfall.
Sources said the related departments blame each other for the failures of freeing canals from occupation.
“It needs a combined operations by Dhaka South and North City Corporations, Dhaka District Administration and Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DWASA) to recover city canals from the influential grabbers. But we find the authorities exchanging blames instead of taking fruitful actions. It made us completely disappointed on canal recovering issue,” M A Matin, the General Secretary of Bangladesh Paribesh Anodolon (BAPA) told The New Nation.
“We know that more than 63 canals were flowing through Dhaka city before independence. In the eightieths, there were more than 40 canals in the city. Nowadays, according to the authorities there are 23 canals, but in fact there are 10 to 12 canals,” the BAPA General Secretary said.
The illegal grabbers occupied most of the canals and constructed different types of installations for doing business.
But the authorities seemed helpless to take strict actions against those grabbers. As a result, the city residents suffer most after every heavy rains and during rainy season and other times.
Basila canal in Mohammadpur, Kalshi canal in Mirpur, Katasur canal, Kamrangirchar canal, Ramchandrapur canal in Rayerbagh, Basabo canal, Ibrahimpur canal in Mirpur-14, Dholaikhal, Kutubkhali canal in Dolairpar, Khilgaon canal, Nandipara canal, Shegunbagicha canal, Begunbari canal, Baunia canal and Rupnagar canals are occupied by the local influential persons.
Most of them constructed buildings, shops, workshops, and many other installations without showing any respect to law.
Apart from this, some of the government offices also grabbed canals illegally and constructed installations, said one of the senior officials of WASA.
Officials said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gave directions to concern authorities to take effective actions to make the canals free from illegal installations.
She also directed to open nine large box culverts and bring the canals to its previous natural shapes.
But no firm actions have yet been seen in this regards.
Officials sources also said that the Dhaka District administrations has prepared a list of 200 illegal grabbers of the city canals. The District administration sent the lists to the Dhaka South and Dhaka North City Corporations on January 18 this year. But till now, no strict action has been taken against those influential persons.
“Whenever we operate eviction drives and make the canals clear, the grabbers come back soon,” Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) Managing Director Engineer Taqsem A Khan told The New Nation.
Apart from this, “The unconscious people use to throw away their household and kitchen waste into the canals in spite of prohibited them in many times,”
Officials of the Dhaka WASA said, there are 26 canals in Dhaka city. Among them seven canals are in Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) area.
But a report of Dhaka district administration shows there are 50 canals in the city. Dhaka district administration said that there are in total 11 canals under the DSCC. They identified some canals divided into two parts and then concluded the numbers as 11.
When contacted, DSCC Mayor Mohammad Sayeed Khokon told The New Nation, “We shall take serious actions to make Dhaka free from water loggings. In this view, we have tread Nandipara-Trimohini canal in February this year. The city corporation will continuously conduct such drives to evict the illegal grabbers and free the canals.”
The DSCC has arranged a meeting in this regards at ‘Nagar Bhaban’ on Janury 22. Deputy Commissioner of Dhaka District and Managing Director of Dhaka WASA including other officials were present in the meeting.
The meeting took decision to recover Nandipara-Trimohini canal. It also decided to continually clean the canals to make those free from garbage to make water flow sharp in order to prevent water stagnant.
Urban specialist Professor Nazrul Islam said, it needs to form a ‘Super Authority’ to resolve problems of the capital city including making canals free, like Kula Lumpur.
In Kula Lumpur, Malaysia, there is a super authority headed by a Deputy Prime Minister to take necessary actions to resolve all major problems in the city.
