Eastern bypass: the same mistake again?

Though the eastern bypass is necessary for the residents of Dhaka city to save its areas from flood but like the western part, its planning is also not done considering the environmental aspect properly.

According to the Tk 11,277 crore Preliminary Development Project Proforma (PDPP) of Dhaka Integrated Flood Control Embankment-Cum-Eastern-Bypass Road Multipurpose Project, it did not keep any scope to maintain the waterway till the Balu or other rivers, though some canals at the eastern fringe are maintaining the waterways.

If the design of the project is not changed, like the western part, mouths of all the canals will be blocked, which still have links with the Balu and Shitalakhya rivers.

According to environmentalists and urban planning experts, during the bypass's construction work it is vital considering the environmental aspect and keeping provision of waterway for boats to row through the different canals and maintain a link with the rivers.

Prof Nazrul Islam, former professor of economics, Dhaka University, in an article published in The Daily Star, said that the eastern bypass should not be constructed as a cordon; instead, it should be constructed with adequate passages left for water to pass between the city and the river.

He said the embankments with adequate sluice gates can provide a way of retaining monsoon water in the city's canals for the dry months.

Abul Kamal Azad, chief engineer (central zone) of Bangladesh Water Development Board, said they did not keep any provision to keep the mouth of the canals open. He said there is still scope to change the plan as it has not been finalised yet.

The possibility of the eastern bypass being constructed in the form of an elevated road may also be explored, said Prof Nazrul. Comprehensive cost-benefit analysis may actually show the latter to be a better option, he said.

Though the 136 square km areas of the western part are protected from flood but the 124 square km areas in eastern part of the city remained unprotected, for which the government is planning to construct the eastern bypass.

BWDB chief engineer said during the 1998 flood the subject of flood protection came up in the discussion again and the multipurpose eastern project was undertaken based on a Jica and Halcrow study.

The project got the government's approval in 1999 with a cost of Tk 2,475 crore. An initiative was taken in 2001 to implement the project with the soil of the Balu river, which would come from dredging the river but it could not progress much due to soil problem.

Floods during 2002 to 2004 in the eastern part brought forth the issue again and the feasibility study was decided to be upgraded again, he said, adding, the Halcrow Group Ltd of the UK and its associates were given the charge to complete the upgrade in 2006.

He said they are now searching for donors for the project's implementation.

Ainun Nishat, professor emeritus of Brac University, and a water resources and climate change specialist, said the government is going to do the same mistake during the construction of the eastern bypass like the western part's flood protection embankment.

He said the eastern bypass should be evaluated in terms of environmental compliance, and suggested protecting all the water bodies of the eastern side during the construction and creating retention pond areas by purchasing sufficient land.

Nishat suggested reviving the Begunbari khal and coordinating waterway communication through it.

“We are objecting the project so that it is not constructed like the western side, which is a cordoned embankment,” said architect Iqbal Habib, joint secretary of Bangladesh Paribsh Andolon.

“If the eastern bypass is also built following the same method, then rain water will be blocked and the canals will dry up,” he added.

Necessity of the bypass is there but the government should not build it as an embankment, he stressed.

“We are suggesting a 'viaduct' concept like the Hatirjheel project to keep the mouths of all the canals open,” Iqbal said.

He said many development activities are going on centring the eastern bypass as a master plan but these development work and housing projects will only be feasible if the eastern bypass is being constructed.

When ring roads are being constructed building cross dam, then canals lose its navigability, and flow of water through them stops, which eventually force the canals to become target of grabbers, Iqbal said.

Due to the delay of the bypass construction, people are continuing with their development works and housing projects filling the canals and water bodies in a rapid way as they are considering that a bypass or embankment will be constructed there, he said.

So the government should recover and protect the canals strictly and develop the eastern side of the capital in a hydro-ecological way, connecting the bypass with the canals, Iqbal added.

Contacted, Managing Director of Wasa Taqsem A Khan said there is a tendency to use the cordoned approach while thinking about flood management.

“With this approach, I always say authorities concerned first make the city a bucket then they tell to pump out the water from it, which is a wrong idea,” he said.

If the government avoids constructing a “Bucket” like the western flood protection embankment then it would not be necessary to pump out water, Taqsem added.

The history of the embankment had come from 1954 or 56 when the East Pakistan had faced severe floods. Then the Pakistan government sought help from the US to protect their people from flood and a commission was sent to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and they submitted a set of recommendations.

“Our water management is still following those recommendations, but their cordoned approach is not suitable for the current time. An open approach is more fitting and environment friendly,” said Taqsem.

He suggested making an elevated road or railway under the eastern bypass project to protect the water body.

“There is no need to go for the cordoned approach anymore, if we do, then the natural drainage system will be destroyed again,” he added.

There are some people who think that cordons are needed for urbanisation and that the open approach will obstruct it, said Prof Nazrul.

In fact, cordons lead to a wrong kind of urbanisation by encouraging below-flood-level settlement that ultimately makes people more vulnerable to inundation from either rainfall inside or from any accidental breach in the cordons or overflow of river water from outside, he added.