LIKE any other year in the two major cities of the nation Dhaka and Chittagong the harbinger of rainy season has come alongwith the inundation of city streets. And it does not take someone to be a city planner to know that this will happen in the next season. Heavy rainfall has turned city life into a deadlock in the port city Chittagong and also in the capital city Dhaka. Chittagong city remained inundated for the fourth consecutive day on Monday, with a handful of vehicles plying on the streets. Because of incessant rainfall, people have undergone enormous miseries particularly in the capital and in the port city.
Mostly school and office going commuters in Dhaka faced problems in reaching their respective destinations in the morning due to huge traffic jam triggered by the seasonal rains that actually started from Friday. Almost all parts of the capital, including Baridhara, Sukrabad, Paschim Rajabazar, Green Road, Paschim Testuri Bazar and Tollabag, were hit hard by the torrential rains on Monday. The traffic in the city was in great chaos and the normal life in disarray as many streets went under knee-deep waters. Vehicles were seen moving slowly on the streets due to the rain, creating huge traffic congestions in the city.
Now it is accepted that during the rainy season most of the city roads will be submerged due to heavy rain, wreaking havoc on city life. Even a little rain causes serious problems and creates water-logging. We believe Dhaka City Corporations (DCCs), Water Supply & Sewerage Authority (WASA) and Rajdhani Unnayon Kortripokkhya (Rajuk) are responsible for mitigating the problem, but they are failing to resolve the problem. The problem is majorly attributable to the absence of proper drainage system, lack of waste management and sewerage system and poor planning.
The canals of Dhaka used to be the connecting channels of the rivers. But most of these canals have vanished due to a variety of reasons: unplanned urbanization, encroachment, lack of co-ordination between the government agencies and lack of maintenance to the system. The land grabbers with the blessings of the ruling party high-ups fill up the low-lying lands as well as canals and thereby obstruct the flow of waters, which is one of the causes for water logging. Another major cause for the narrowing of the channels of the canals is the dumping of solid wastes, he said. DCCs have failed to provide facilities for the dumping of millions of tons of solid waste generated each day.
But the authorities are strict and not ready to do their duties. They should create public awareness about what should not be done. But those who are employed at public expenses are rather inactive. They should be taken to task for earning and doing nothing.
The public authorities have responsibility to take care of the well-being of the city citizens and ensure minimum civic services to make the city liveable. Be responsible and accountable. Don’t just tell us about big success story.
