Staff Reporter :
Life in a large area of Dhaka city virtually comes to a standstill every year during the monsoon season due to the water logging and the traffic jam.
Many areas go under water when it rains, even moderately, poor drainage system for the city corporation failure to pump out water.
Negligence on the part of city corporation in properly maintaining the city’s drainage system is responsible for waterlogging.
Shukrabad, Indira Road, Rajabazar, Mouchak, Malibagh, Moghbazar, Shantinagar, Badda, Baridhara, Natun Bazar, Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Rayerbazar, Hazaribagh, Old Dhaka, Sayedabad and Jatrabari experience the worst softening.
To get rid of the waterlogging, Dhaka WASA (Water Supply and Sewerage Authority), the prime state-owned agency to maintain the city’s drainage and sewerage system, set up pumping stations at Kallyanpur, Dholaikhal, Rampura and Kamalapur to pump out rainwater, but appeared ineffective.
Abdur Rashid, resident of Moghbazar, said that waterlogging became a regular feature in the entire Mouchak, Malibagh, Moghbazar, Shantinagar areas during monsoon.
He said “We are facing this problem every year and so we want to get rid of it.”
He said, since the split of city corporations, drainage and transport discipline in many places has not been done properly as the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) and Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) authorities are uncertain about their jurisdiction.
Haji Abu Bakar Siddique, a resident of Kuril, said that his locality gets flooded in every monsoon and it takes at least a week for removal of the rainwater from roads and lanes.
He said, the 40-year-old drainage and sewerage system in Kuril, has no ability to clear water quickly.
An official of WASA said, at present, a rainfall above 40mm in Dhaka would take at least three hours to recede, as the available system is capable of draining water of only 20mm of rainfall without causing too much public sufferings.
He said, the city corporation authorities have to ensure that before monsoon their roadside drains are clear.
He said filling up of floodplains, wetlands and most of the 65 canals in Dhaka was the main reason for waterlogging.
He informed, WASA maintains 320km of large-diameter concrete storm-water drains, 10kms of box culverts on canals and 65km of canals for the city’s storm-water drainage management. This covers only a third of its area.
Mohammad Khalilur Rahman, Assistant Engineer of Dhaka South City Corporation said “We have been trying to keep city drains capable of draining waste.”
He said, when the filth is thrown into the WASA pipes, its responsibility goes to them. The filth which overflows from the sewerage lines is also WASA’s liability.
The north and the south city corporations maintained over 2,000km feeder drains (open and small diameter pipes) to drain water from homes and rainwater and take them to canals, he said
He said since population density is very high and the drainage capacity is poor, rainwater takes hours to recede.
Dr Abdul Matin, Secretary General of the Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) said that widespread use of polythene and plastic bags has become a matter of concern in Dhaka city as it is disrupting the drainage and sewerage system.
He said “In spite of a government ban, the hazardous polythene shopping bag is slowly making a comeback as a section of unscrupulous manufacturers secretly continue their production and consumers silently revive its use.”
“City dwellers dump household wastes and other wastes wrapped with polythene or mosquito net bag in the surface drainage system. It is one of the main reasons why the city sewerage system remains clogged,” he added.
Life in a large area of Dhaka city virtually comes to a standstill every year during the monsoon season due to the water logging and the traffic jam.
Many areas go under water when it rains, even moderately, poor drainage system for the city corporation failure to pump out water.
Negligence on the part of city corporation in properly maintaining the city’s drainage system is responsible for waterlogging.
Shukrabad, Indira Road, Rajabazar, Mouchak, Malibagh, Moghbazar, Shantinagar, Badda, Baridhara, Natun Bazar, Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Rayerbazar, Hazaribagh, Old Dhaka, Sayedabad and Jatrabari experience the worst softening.
To get rid of the waterlogging, Dhaka WASA (Water Supply and Sewerage Authority), the prime state-owned agency to maintain the city’s drainage and sewerage system, set up pumping stations at Kallyanpur, Dholaikhal, Rampura and Kamalapur to pump out rainwater, but appeared ineffective.
Abdur Rashid, resident of Moghbazar, said that waterlogging became a regular feature in the entire Mouchak, Malibagh, Moghbazar, Shantinagar areas during monsoon.
He said “We are facing this problem every year and so we want to get rid of it.”
He said, since the split of city corporations, drainage and transport discipline in many places has not been done properly as the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) and Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) authorities are uncertain about their jurisdiction.
Haji Abu Bakar Siddique, a resident of Kuril, said that his locality gets flooded in every monsoon and it takes at least a week for removal of the rainwater from roads and lanes.
He said, the 40-year-old drainage and sewerage system in Kuril, has no ability to clear water quickly.
An official of WASA said, at present, a rainfall above 40mm in Dhaka would take at least three hours to recede, as the available system is capable of draining water of only 20mm of rainfall without causing too much public sufferings.
He said, the city corporation authorities have to ensure that before monsoon their roadside drains are clear.
He said filling up of floodplains, wetlands and most of the 65 canals in Dhaka was the main reason for waterlogging.
He informed, WASA maintains 320km of large-diameter concrete storm-water drains, 10kms of box culverts on canals and 65km of canals for the city’s storm-water drainage management. This covers only a third of its area.
Mohammad Khalilur Rahman, Assistant Engineer of Dhaka South City Corporation said “We have been trying to keep city drains capable of draining waste.”
He said, when the filth is thrown into the WASA pipes, its responsibility goes to them. The filth which overflows from the sewerage lines is also WASA’s liability.
The north and the south city corporations maintained over 2,000km feeder drains (open and small diameter pipes) to drain water from homes and rainwater and take them to canals, he said
He said since population density is very high and the drainage capacity is poor, rainwater takes hours to recede.
Dr Abdul Matin, Secretary General of the Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) said that widespread use of polythene and plastic bags has become a matter of concern in Dhaka city as it is disrupting the drainage and sewerage system.
He said “In spite of a government ban, the hazardous polythene shopping bag is slowly making a comeback as a section of unscrupulous manufacturers secretly continue their production and consumers silently revive its use.”
“City dwellers dump household wastes and other wastes wrapped with polythene or mosquito net bag in the surface drainage system. It is one of the main reasons why the city sewerage system remains clogged,” he added.
