The causes behind urban water-logging are easy to find. The presence of scientifically unsound new storm sewers together with the clogging of the old ones is one of the major reasons why Dhaka city goes under water every time there is a rainfall. Another reason is the systematic filling of lakes and other water bodies that has been going on in the name of development. In a number of instances, lakes and canals have been replaced by new roads, with the result that rainwater, or any other water for that matter, has no outlet for itself. Then too there are the box culverts that block an easy passage for water. Add to that the haphazard manner in which homes, especially apartment complexes, as well as shopping malls have been built in the city in the last many years. What has happened in the process is that the old drainage systems along the roads where these new buildings have come up have been lost under the weight of the new constructions. Worse, the pumps that Wasa is wont to use in emergencies have clearly gone decrepit.

The facts noted above have again a whole lot to do with the regrettable lack of coordination among the various departments responsible for ensuring an orderly system of work in the nation's capital. Wasa, Dhaka City Corporation, Water Development Board, T&T and other bodies have generally worked at cross purposes or have not felt any need to communicate with one another where utility planning schemes are concerned. Only recently, a steering committee was set up to address the water-logging issues. It will remain a cosmetic measure unless comprehensive and doable strategies are devised by it towards dealing with the problem. The time has arrived to review in full existing strategies regarding dealing with water-logging in Dhaka city, or shape new ones.