Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque :
The forum for planned urbanization in Chittagong held a news conference at Chittagong Press Club on 18 July 2017. The President of the Forum , Sikander Khan, a renowned economist said that without preparing ground thousand crore taka is spent on one project after another.
Who will be supposed to get the project is predetermined. Whether those project s are in the original plan book are not kept in consideration. Money thus flows in the name of development without panning and consideration. That means money thus flowed through project line is sure to find place in water.
That visible development is taking place in Chittagong is a mere show through numerous projects. CDA is constructing elevated roads. Is this project lies in long term plan or CDA is doing for earning name and fame not thinking in terms of welfare.
The Vice President of the Forum Engineer Subash Barua presented a written statement. He said that port city Chittagong has become a city of lot of sufferings and predicaments. Each project aggravates the conditions of the city rather than alleviates it. Each project attached a small pointed piece of iron to the coffin. Life of the city dweller has become hail. He suggested remedies with seven point recommendation for implementation. They include: all canals need excavation according to CSORS, widening and deepening of canals to enhance their carrying capacities, eviction of all illegal structures near the canals, constructing new canal according drainage master plan 1995, construction of water bodies and silt trap, renovating all city drains and regular cleaning , increasing carrying capacity of Karnafuli through capital dragging, enforcing strict law to stop throwing rubbish to the drains, and stop hill leveling.
Without implementing these recommendations installing pump and sluice gate will be meaningless. He advised formation of a strong committee for smart completion of these works thus suggested. The city corporation and autonomous and parastatal bodies must do their assigned works.
There is no gainsaying of the fact that Despite repeated warning and response of the concerned administration tragic incidence is taking place almost every year during monsoon. The environmentalists have long had words of warnings about impending disaster in the event of wanton destruction of forests and rampant leveling of hills. The criminal syndicate with certain amount impunity is destroying hill forest and cutting hills without any qualm of conscience.
That the concerned authorities like CDA and the department of environment failed to take follow up action after circular issued in 1982 is hardly amazing. For urban governance is distressingly missing. A plethora of circulars served by the urban administration could not prevent the powerful syndicate from cutting hills. It could manage to continue anti-social activities through using lacuna in legislative measures and managing stay order. Even then ‘under the existing environmental law there is scope to file case with environmental court against environmental degradation brought about by illegal hill cutting (ibid).
Devastating landslide hit hill slums on 1st July, 2011 in Batali hill claiming 17 lives injuring many. It was triggered by heavy downpour. Some families continue to take risks on live despite the catastrophe while some are shifting to safer places.
The Chittagong city corporation (CCC) ‘engaged around 60 workers to remove the debris and mud inside the protection wall to make it risk free temporary.’ Mentionable, CCC initiated construction of this protection wall to prevent landslide during the period of military back caretaker government.
It was of course a protective measure against natural devastation but with faulty construction as the experts commented. Even then some illegal construction of dwelling units near the wall removing some of its polls is responsible for Batali hill disaster. The tragic episode is the indication that nature lashes back once again.
The hill dwellers suffered the consequence in 1998(killing 16), 1999(killing 19), 2000(killing 16), 2002(claiming 70) and 2007(the worst one). Disaster in Chittagong in June 2007, the worst in recent time, claimed more than 120 lives injuring many. The rescue operation was on to retrieve bodies from beneath the mudslides that wrought havoc in hill top slums in the wake of torrential rains.
Following the disaster a hill management committee headed by CTG divisional commissioner was formed to compensate and rehabilate the affected people. In August 18, 2008 hill slide left 11 persons killed at the foothill slums of Motijharna. It happened before the concerned authorities could evacuate the foothill slums and rehabilate the dwellers early in the morning. Hill slide also took place in Chattagong University in June 2007. Most victim families used to live close to the ill.
The reasons behind landslide, according to an expert, are unstable geographical formation, reckless construction, and heavy rainfall, lack of a proper sewerage system and lack of knowledge about nature’s ability to lash back with huge fatalities. Yet the most remarkable factor seems to be lack of governance in urban Chittagong where there has been mushroomed growth of squatter settlements in risky hills.
There has been reckless hill cutting with the concerned authorities including CDA and department of Environment paying a deaf ear to the allegations about illegal possession of public land property and leveling of hills and hillocks.
(Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque, Chittagong University)
