IT was certainly a relief to the millions reeling under a long unbearable scorching summer heat that the rains came in the city at last on Saturday. Although, the city dwellers greeted it as a blessing, but it turned out to be a curse in the form of alarming water logging in most parts of the capital city. It rained on Sunday too. Rainwater led to severe water-logging in most areas of the city including Motijheel, Shantinagar, Mouchak, Maghbazar, Rampura, Badda, Jatrabari and even some posh residential areas like Gulshan and Dhanmondi, reported the news media. Water rose knee high, preventing transports from plying on the roads and clogging up the roads for hours. The problems of water logging seem to exacerbate with each passing year. The authorities seem quite indifferent to the public suffering caused by it.
Dhaka, a mega-city housing some 15 million people, lacks proper drainage system. Most roads and sub-roads go under water following little rainfall thereby bringing the entire city to a standstill. A low capacity drainage system and outlets, lack of proper maintenance, natural siltation, absence of inlets and outlets, and the disposal of solid waste into the drains and drainage paths are the prime causes of water-logging in the capital. No doubt, low water flow in the rivers around the city makes the clogging even more intensified. Moreover, to make the thing worse, rampant road digging is going on in different parts of the city by various service providers. Such problems persist every year especially on the onset of the monsoon and the city inhabitants continue to suffer. This flooding of the roads creates deadlocks on most city roads. As traffic congestion is aggravated on the surface and the sewer and piped-water lines became indistinguishable, it creates a whole lot of health and environment hazards.
The rivers, canals and wetlands in and around the city have been filled up due to unplanned real estate development, depriving the rainwater of its natural outlets. The city drainage system lacks proper maintenance and needs a complete overhaul. Though sometimes measures are taken to make the sewerage running, the disposals are often left on the roadside, which flow back into the drains and back onto the roads during heavy rain on a vicious cycle.
The capital is in dire need of proper planning and coordination for its water flow. Coordination among the public and private initiatives in developing the urban drainage system can be an effective measure to this way. Reclamation of some 11 dead or moribund channels, which once helped draining out of run-off waters should be ensured immediately. We hope, the authorities must step forward to lessen the woes of the city inhabitants and make life in the capital more bearable.
