The canals in the capital city Dhaka, which were once so lively with fresh water flow and aquatic biodiversity, are now in death throes due to unabated encroachments and pollution. Even during the rainy season now in progress, they are out of sight when water logging is drowning many city areas in absence of effective drainage system. An English daily reported on Thursday that most canals have lost their life if not altogether grabbed. Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) has got the mandate to excavate and protect the canals, but the sorry state the canals are in now, give no reflection that WASA has done anything in this regard. Powerful people have encroached most of those canals and built houses and markets. Their recovery appears simply impossible at many places.
We know that a list of 43 canals was prepared by a committee formed in 2004 asking the concerned agencies to come forward to identify, recover and reopen the canals. The committee also identified 26 canals under WASA as recoverable. The agency had reportedly taken initiatives in line of a decision of the last caretaker government to recover 26 canals from encroachers. But it failed. Besides, once the recovery drive of some was over, they were encroached again in absence of routine excavation and demarcation.
Once Dhaka was known as a city of mosques and canals. Mosques have rebound but canals just disappeared. Most canals are already dead or in the process of dying. Link of canals with river has been disrupted or at a narrow level. WASA has also dumped many canals by setting up covered sewerage lines. Dhaka is expanding and ponds, water bodies and canals have become target of encroachers.
In our view saving canals and open playground in the city is a big challenge and there must be serious efforts to thwart moves to grab them. The problem is that when the ruling party men are engaged in such encroachments, not only now — under any and every past government, protecting sensitive installations like canals and playgrounds became difficult. The Law enforcers, courts and land record officials – all work in connivance with the vested interest quarters.
This is how Dhaka has lost most canals and losing the remaining ones. Citizens’ initiatives are there but they are helpless to the powerful people. But in our view efforts must be rebound and new initiatives and plan of action must he at work to save the lifeline of the city to keep its drainage system effective. If the city dries up and the canals remain uncared for then living in the capital will be more unhealthy and problematic. The city will be easily flooded in rainy seasons. As no government functionary feels he has any public accountability, so we can only wish that somebody will take the problem seriously.
