BSS, Rajshahi :
Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) has been implementing drainage and approach road projects aimed at freeing the city from water-logging together with making the pedestrian movement easy.
Various works including construction of a two-kilometer road, culverts and railings were completed with an estimated cost of around Taka 1.78 crore at present. The infrastructure development works are being progressed under a project titled “Drain Construction for Removing Water-logging in Rajshahi city (Third Phase)” in order to install a planned drainage system through removing its existing constraints.
Apart from this, 10 widened roads with decorated railings are being constructed besides 10 drainages under the project in order to make the pedestrian movement side by side with the process of removing garbage and waste from the drains easy and smooth.
City Mayor AHM Khairuzzaman Liton accompanied by others concerned visited the pitch carpeting works of the 525-meter long and 5.50-meter wide road from Chalna Sluice Gate to Guljarbag Mosque to see for himself its finishing works on Monday.
He said around seventy-five percent of Rajshahi city areas are expected to be freed from water-logging after implementation of the on-going drain construction project by June next.
Salient feature of the project is to improve the physical infrastructural environment through building a time-fitting and sustainable water sewerage system that will contribute a lot towards attaining the cherished goal of boosting working capacity and economic condition of the city.
Executive Engineer and Director of the project Nur Islam told BSS that the project is being implemented as continuation of implementation of the previous first and second phases as per the recommendations of a 27-year drainage master plan. Under the Taka 193.29-crore project, construction works of 93.40-km drains including 67.75-km tertiary and 19.29-km secondary ones are on the final stage with the main thrust of freeing the city’s lion-portion areas from water-logging within near future.
Four railway culverts are being expanded besides construction of 8.67-km approach roads in addition to the procurement of two long-boom excavators and two rubber trucks under the project. Existing problems relating to unfit and narrow sections of the present drains and its low-sewerage capacity will be removed. All the culverts are gradually being widened besides removing the silts from the base of the drains to enhance the sewerage capacity under this project.
Engineer Islam said the physical infrastructure development works are being implemented in order to attain the goal of developing the overall environmental health system through building an effective and permanent water sewerage system in the city.
Upon its successful implementation by June next, the project will free the city’s 75 percent areas from water-logging and more than 70 percent of the population will be benefited either directly or indirectly from the improved physical infrastructures.
Earlier, 54 percent city areas were freed from water-logging and 60 percent of people were benefited with implementation of the two previous phases of the drainage project.
Under the first phase, 32.87-km drains were constructed at a cost of around Taka 23.07 crore while other 16.53-km drains at a cost of around Taka 21.59 crore under the second phase belong to the drainage master plan by this year end.
“We have started formulating another long-term master plan to bring the untouched as well as gradually expanding areas under the drainage network in the years to come,” added Nur Islam.
