Responsibility lies with all
Emphasising the necessity of ponds in mitigating waterlogging crisis and during fire incidents, urban experts and environmentalists demanded that the government take proper measures to protect these vital organs.
A pond is also beneficial for the environment and enhances the aesthetic beauty of an area, they added.
The experts stressed the need for recovering the reservoirs which have been grabbed illegally or left in death throes due to pollution. Also, a mass awareness is needed as the responsibility to protect these water bodies from encroachment and pollution lies with all.
They also sought intervention of the prime minister in this regard.
Emphasising the need for protecting ponds and water bodies, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a parliament session on July 13 said the government has prepared a wetland protection act to save those. She said during any construction work, the water bodies have to be kept intact.
Prof Mujibur Rahman of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) said a pond is a natural haven. It has an ecosystem where there are communities of organism dependent on each other with the prevailing water environment for their nutrients and survival.
But people are destroying it by making it polluted, he said. “A pond is vital for its rain water containing capacity. It also helps the drainage system. Unfortunately, people do not even realise it.”
The more these water bodies will be filled up, the more rainwater will keep on submerging the roads and houses.
“The value of land in Dhaka is so high that people (both government and private) do not want to keep the ponds alive. They want to build buildings or other structures by filling those up. It is unacceptable,” he said.
“Destroying these vital organs means damaging the country's environment. Ponds are one of the major components of the environment.”
“Not just the ponds, even the trees around the water bodies play an important role in solving the drainage problem of an area. With the help of the trees, vegetation can be generated by the banks of a reservoir. It can drain out a huge amount of rain water,” he said.
Architect Iqbal Habib, joint secretary of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa), said ponds and water bodies are essential to put up resistance against warm weather. A water body has a higher heat capacity than land. It also comes in handy during incidents of fire.
Importance and necessity of protecting the reservoirs are also mentioned in the Building Construction Rules and the capital's Detailed Area Plan, he said.
“The government has documented the necessity of the reservoirs but did not take any step to protect those. Even just from the viewpoint of disaster management and the Detailed Area Plan, recovering and protecting the existing ponds are a must,” he said.
If the government do not protect the water bodies, it will be a violation of law, said Habib.
A coordinated initiative by the ministries concerned is imperative to protect the ponds. Also, steps should be taken against all illegal activities such as construction of the BGMEA Bhaban at Hatirjheel, he said.
Syeda Rizwana Hasan, chief executive of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (Bela), said a pond has become a rare sight in the capital. “All this generation sees are buildings and wetlands filled with sands. This must change.”
“We can't deny the necessity of ponds in the heavily populated and congested Dhaka city. We must protect what we are still left with and excavate new ones to save the city from waterlogging,” she added.
Prof Ishrat Islam of department of Urban and Regional Planning of Buet said, “The digging of ponds started in line with the 'dig-elevate-dwell' principle of settlement. This is the way people started living in the floodplains of a delta. As most of the area of Bangladesh is lowland, ponds were dug up for earth to elevate the land.”
The reservoirs also became a source of water and were used as retention areas. During the early days, city people used to depend on pond water for drinking, bathing or doing their household chores, she said.
“We also have a pond at our grandfather's house in Siddheshwari. It was purchased in 1948. There was a huge scarcity of water there and people of the area used to use its water.”
“We are now far away from the concept of ponds as there is no necessity of pond for drinking water…,” she said. “Many of the city ponds were filled up due to dumping of waste.”
Prof Israt said in many countries they keep the water bodies intact as part of their flood or drainage management system. While developing an area, they are not allowed to fill those up randomly.
The developers there will have to build playgrounds as well as keep certain areas as lakes or ponds or canals, she said.
“According to Building Construction Rules, cutting of hills and filling up ponds are not allowed without permission. But it went on unabated. The wetland protection act is supposed to protect every kind of water bodies. The authorities concerned will have to take strict measures in this regard.”
AKM Shakil Newaz, director (operation and maintenance) of Fire Service and Civil defence, said water saves lives from fire. “We need reservoirs. Most of Dhaka's water bodies were filled up randomly for which we face an acute shortage of water during fire incidents,” he said.
“During fire incidents, we do not get water like before. We have to have two systems of getting water. One will be the mechanical or modern system where we need to have fire hydrants, and the other will be the natural source of water such as ponds or other water bodies.”
Also, from an environmental aspect and to maintain the ecology, it is essential to have water bodies, Shakil said.
“Last year during a fire incident at Karwan Bazar, we had to face serious difficulties due to a lack of water body,” he said. In Uttara, they also faced a similar problem while dousing a blaze, he added.
“We had to seek water door to door. If there was a pond available in the area, we could have fetched water from it and brought the situation under control sooner.
Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Mayor Annisul Huq in July said most of the water bodies are under the DC office while Wasa is in charge of the maintenance.
“I don't see that many ponds in the city anymore. The ponds and other water bodies are a vital part of Dhaka. Those have to be protected properly,” he said.
Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Sayeed Khokon said most of the ponds in the DSCC area are privately owned or under the possession of panchayets (local associations).
“The ponds are managed locally. When people seek help, we assist them. If needed, we can do cleaning activities in the ponds,” he said.
About the Shikkatuli pond, the mayor said there is a dispute between locals and those who are claiming ownership of the pond.
About the DIT plot pond in Genderia, the mayor said some influential people are trying to grab it. “I have asked our people to clean the pond,” he said. Rajuk will have to take an initiative to protect it.
“If Rajuk, DC office, individual owners or local associations seek help from the DSCC to protect the pond, we will be more than happy to help them. For example, there were no street lights near Bongshal pond. We have set up the lights around the reservoir, following requests of locals,” the mayor said.
(Edited by HASAN MEER)
Mujibur Rahman, Professor
Not just the ponds, even the trees around the water bodies play an important role in solving the drainage problem of an area. With the help of the trees, vegetation can be generated by the banks of a reservoir. It can drain out a huge amount of rain water.
Sayeed Khokon, Mayor
If Rajuk, DC office, individual owners or local associations seek help from the DSCC to protect the pond, we will be more than happy to help them. For example, there were no street lights near Bongshal pond. We have set up the lights around the reservoir, following requests of locals.
Iqbal Habib, Architect
The government has documented the necessity of the reservoirs but did not take any step to protect those. Even just from the viewpoint of disaster management and the Detailed Area Plan, recovering and protecting the existing ponds are a must.
Annisul Huq, Mayor
I don't see that many ponds in the city anymore. The ponds and other water bodies are a vital part of Dhaka. Those have to be protected properly.
Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Activist
We can't deny the necessity of ponds in the heavily populated and congested Dhaka city. We must protect what we are still left with and excavate new ones to save the city from waterlogging.
AKM Shakil Newaz, Fire officer
During fire incidents, we do not get water like before. We have to have two systems of getting water. One will be the mechanical or modern system where we need to have fire hydrants, and the other will be the natural source of water such as ponds or other water bodies.
Ishrat Islam, Professor
According to Building Construction Rules, cutting of hills and filling up ponds are not allowed without permission. But it went on unabated. The wetland protection act is supposed to protect every kind of water bodies. The authorities concerned will have to take strict measures in this regard.
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