Md Joynal Abedin Khan :
Several thousand uncovered manholes and sewerages without slab have turned city’s many roads, streets and pavement into death traps.
The city dwellers fear more tragic accidents for carelessness of the authorities concerned as they fail to take necessary steps about uncovered manholes. At least 35 people, including Ziad and Niroab, died and more than three hundreds people injured after fall into such pits in last three years.
The officials of the Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) and both the city corporations plying blame game that made the people extemly horrified. They city dwellers almost could not get any help to call the WASA’s ‘Help Line No. 1616?’.
The WASA and both the two city corporations sources said that there were more than 74,000 manholes in the city and about 12 per cent of those remained open.
They claimed that authorities almost indifferent to check the manholes and replaced
the damaged or lost covers.
Engineer Khandker Mosharraf Hossain (MP), the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development & Cooperatives, said “Most of the manholes under the jurisdiction of WASA. It has around 40,000 manholes. Of theses, 11 thousands on drainage lines and 29 thousands on sewerage lines. Any citizen takes service to call through WASA the number 1616?.”
Shewrapara resident Dilruba Khanam Swapna said that sometimes they voluntarily put bamboo stick inside open manhole so that riders or drivers could avoid accident on alleyway.
If the authorities continue the blame game then the city dwellers to experience more tragic incidents for the manholes, she said.
The city’s Eskaton Garden residence Altaf Hossain said that most of the manholes were build sub-standards elements.
He requested the government to take tough action if found negligence against any persons to save the lives of the people.
On December 8 in 2015, a five-year-old boy Ismail Hossain Nirab, was declared dead at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital after he was found unconscious at Shyampur sluice gate near Buriganga river more than four hours after he fell into an open manhole.
Earlier on December 26 in 2014, the locals and volunteers pulled up a three-year-and-a-half boy Zihad in a cage after the fire service abandoned rescue operation declaring that they found nobody inside the narrow 300-feet deep well at Shajahanpur. Zihad fell into the water-pump well, left abandoned by the railways, while playing with other boys.
Professor Nazrul Islam, a noted urban planner of the country, told The New Nation on Monday, “he deaths of one after another have highlighted the danger of open manholes, but the civic bodies including Dhaka City Corporations are yet to come up with effective steps to cover the manholes.”
City planner architect Mubasshar Hussain said, “The problem lies with lack of coordination among agencies concerned especially between the two city corporation and the WASA and it will not be solved until the establishment of a single authority to look after all services provided by nearly 54 agencies in the capital.”
The Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Chief Executive Officer ABM Enamul Haque said that the water and sewerage authority was responsible for maintaining the manholes.
He claimed that they cover all the manholes, but the thieves and drug addicts steal the iron tops of manholes in night for meeting their drug cost.
“We always monitor the roads but if the thieves steel manhole at the night it is very difficult to nab them,” he said.
Khan Mohammad Bilal, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) claimed that they do not have any manhole under their jurisdiction. It is WASA’s responsibility to maintain manholes.”
He said, “Three civic authorities-WASA, DESA and RAJUK- are also responsible to provide service to the city dwellers. As there is no coordination among these service providers, the city people are being deprived of better service.”
The Dhaka WASA Deputy Managing Director (operations and maintenance) SDM Quamrul Alam Chowdhury admitted that sometimes they delayed repairing or replacing the manhole covers because of shortage of manpower and resources.
‘Following the latest incident, however, we have issued a fresh instruction to officials concerned to repair or cover all the open manholes and sewerage,’ he said.
He said that they were also collecting information from different sources to find out the open manholes.
Dr M A Matin, General Secretary Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) said that the open manholes polluted the environment and led the city dwellers deaths.
Several thousand uncovered manholes and sewerages without slab have turned city’s many roads, streets and pavement into death traps.
The city dwellers fear more tragic accidents for carelessness of the authorities concerned as they fail to take necessary steps about uncovered manholes. At least 35 people, including Ziad and Niroab, died and more than three hundreds people injured after fall into such pits in last three years.
The officials of the Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) and both the city corporations plying blame game that made the people extemly horrified. They city dwellers almost could not get any help to call the WASA’s ‘Help Line No. 1616?’.
The WASA and both the two city corporations sources said that there were more than 74,000 manholes in the city and about 12 per cent of those remained open.
They claimed that authorities almost indifferent to check the manholes and replaced
the damaged or lost covers.
Engineer Khandker Mosharraf Hossain (MP), the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development & Cooperatives, said “Most of the manholes under the jurisdiction of WASA. It has around 40,000 manholes. Of theses, 11 thousands on drainage lines and 29 thousands on sewerage lines. Any citizen takes service to call through WASA the number 1616?.”
Shewrapara resident Dilruba Khanam Swapna said that sometimes they voluntarily put bamboo stick inside open manhole so that riders or drivers could avoid accident on alleyway.
If the authorities continue the blame game then the city dwellers to experience more tragic incidents for the manholes, she said.
The city’s Eskaton Garden residence Altaf Hossain said that most of the manholes were build sub-standards elements.
He requested the government to take tough action if found negligence against any persons to save the lives of the people.
On December 8 in 2015, a five-year-old boy Ismail Hossain Nirab, was declared dead at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital after he was found unconscious at Shyampur sluice gate near Buriganga river more than four hours after he fell into an open manhole.
Earlier on December 26 in 2014, the locals and volunteers pulled up a three-year-and-a-half boy Zihad in a cage after the fire service abandoned rescue operation declaring that they found nobody inside the narrow 300-feet deep well at Shajahanpur. Zihad fell into the water-pump well, left abandoned by the railways, while playing with other boys.
Professor Nazrul Islam, a noted urban planner of the country, told The New Nation on Monday, “he deaths of one after another have highlighted the danger of open manholes, but the civic bodies including Dhaka City Corporations are yet to come up with effective steps to cover the manholes.”
City planner architect Mubasshar Hussain said, “The problem lies with lack of coordination among agencies concerned especially between the two city corporation and the WASA and it will not be solved until the establishment of a single authority to look after all services provided by nearly 54 agencies in the capital.”
The Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Chief Executive Officer ABM Enamul Haque said that the water and sewerage authority was responsible for maintaining the manholes.
He claimed that they cover all the manholes, but the thieves and drug addicts steal the iron tops of manholes in night for meeting their drug cost.
“We always monitor the roads but if the thieves steel manhole at the night it is very difficult to nab them,” he said.
Khan Mohammad Bilal, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) claimed that they do not have any manhole under their jurisdiction. It is WASA’s responsibility to maintain manholes.”
He said, “Three civic authorities-WASA, DESA and RAJUK- are also responsible to provide service to the city dwellers. As there is no coordination among these service providers, the city people are being deprived of better service.”
The Dhaka WASA Deputy Managing Director (operations and maintenance) SDM Quamrul Alam Chowdhury admitted that sometimes they delayed repairing or replacing the manhole covers because of shortage of manpower and resources.
‘Following the latest incident, however, we have issued a fresh instruction to officials concerned to repair or cover all the open manholes and sewerage,’ he said.
He said that they were also collecting information from different sources to find out the open manholes.
Dr M A Matin, General Secretary Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) said that the open manholes polluted the environment and led the city dwellers deaths.
