Reza Mahmud :
Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) plans to create about 574 kilometres waterways in the new detailed area plan (DAP) in Dhaka.
The RAJUK has prepared the plan for creating a large waterway by recovering its long canals from the grabbers in the city.
Officials of the RAJUK who are related with the DAP said that they are not only creating waterways, the authority also wants to keep touch of water in every residential areas in the city in its new plan.
Sources said that there are 43 canals in the city but most of those are in papers only. Most of the canals have been grabbed and filled by influential persons.
The canals were so far under the WASA but now those have been handed over to the two city corporations of Dhaka.
In these circumstances, the RAJUK has made a plan to work together with the Dhaka city corporations to implement its entire plans.
Asharaful Islam, urban planner of the RAJUK and Project Director of DAP also said in a recent seminar that they would work together with the DSCC and DNCC and all the others concern organizations to implement their plans.
Sources said that there are different proposals in the DAP to recover, evacuate and multiple use of those city canals.
Meanwhile, Dhaka North City Corporation has recovered Ramchandrapur-Lautala canal in the city’s Mohammadpur area after taking its responsibility from the WASA.
But DNCC is yet to take initiatives to keep the canal protected by constructing walkway in the two sides of the canal which it has announced soon after recovered it.
Locals said that the normal speed of water in the canal is yet to be ensured.
They said that polyethylene, plastic wastes and other household wastes have blocked the normal speed of water through the canal.
They are also anxious about further grabbing of the canal by the influential persons as there were no visible protection there.
Besides, DNCC Mayor also announced to recover Kalyanpur canal and to make a waterway and a nature friendly environment around the canal.
But the DNCC found serious complications while trying to rescue the canal.
Not only the Kalyanpur canal, about 26 canals of the 43 now totally disappeared.
Multistoried buildings have been constructed on most of the grabbed canals.
In these circumstances, the ecologists have questioned about the implementation of the new plan in DAP of creating 574 KM waterway.
When contacted, Professor Dr. Adil Mohammad Khan, General Secretary of the Planners Institutes of Bangladesh told The New Nation, “Every legal matters are possible like recovering the grabbed canals and make it waterways.”
He said the when the huge traffic gridlocks are creating huge harms of our working hours, the planned waterways can give us relief from such problems.
The expert said government should take strict measures and should not give-up to any party men during the evacuation work of those grabbed canals.
