85mm rain drowns Dhaka

With the two city corporations taking charge of canals and drainage system from Wasa around five months back, Dhaka dwellers had high hopes that there will be significant improvement in the waterlogging situation.

However, that expectation is yet to reach an expected level, which became quite evident yesterday, as just three hours of rainfall -- from 6am to 9am -- was enough to drown most parts of the city with several areas facing severe waterlogging problems.

According to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, Dhaka faced 85mm of rainfall in three hours.

During yesterday's rainfall, once again, many parts of the capital including Dhanmondi 27, Green Road, Nakhalpara, parts of Rajarbagh, behind Bangabhaban, Gandaria DIT plot, Gabtola mosque in Jhigatala, Kazipara and Khilkhet went under ankle-to-thigh-deep water.  

Besides, people, mainly office-goers, faced difficulty during their commute due to the rain that led to waterlogging on many streets, lanes and by-lanes in Banani, Green Road, Dhanmondi, Satmasjid Road, Mirpur Road, Tejturibazar, Mohakhali and Malibagh areas.

Vehicles were seen stalled on the road due to the waterlogging, which led to traffic congestion on Mirpur and Green roads.

People were traveling on rickshaw-vans, getting no other way to reach office. Many had to pay extra to reach their destinations due to lack of public transport amid rain.

Many shops and houses in low-lying areas were submerged.

Due to gusty winds, several outbound flights at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport were delayed by 45 minutes to one hour, said sources at HSIA.

"The road at Dhanmondi 27 crossing went under thigh-deep water by 10am and it took an hour for the water to recede. It used to take three to four hours before," said a traffic police in the area.

"We had more expectations after the city corporations took charge of the drainage but they have failed to fulfil it so far," he said.

Kazipara resident Habibur Rahman, who works at a leasing company in Uttara, said he had an important meeting at 10am but could reach office on time as the alley was inundated with water.

"I had to wade through knee-deep water to go to the main road and change several transports to reach office," said Habib (31).

The two city corporations on December 31 formally took over management and maintenance responsibilities of 26 canals, 10 kilometres of box culverts and 385km of storm water drainage from Dhaka Wasa.

Earlier, DNCC and DSCC used to manage pipe and surface drains.

Iqbal Habib, joint secretary of Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon, said water connectivity is crucial to solve the waterlogging problem of Dhaka.

Habib said both the city corporations are still in a planning stage but the rainy season in here already.

The city corporations are now emphasising on cleaning the canals and drains to increase its water carrying capacity, for which water is receding after two to three hours later, he said.

"Water flow through the drainage network including canals will have to be uninterrupted up to rivers to get its proper benefit," said Habib.

Initially, the city corporations will have to clear all the obstacles to ensure uninterrupted water flow of canals. Then they will have to recover all the canal land based on CS map. Afterwards, they will have to recover all the retention areas and ensure a complete network to get better results, he mentioned.

Adil Mohammad Khan, general secretary of Bangladesh Institute of Planners, said there is no scope to solve the waterlogging problem, fulfilling expectations of city dwellers as the city was not developed properly.

He said as per the planning standards, 10 to 15 percent water reservoir and 20 to 25 percent green area are required in a city but unfortunately in the central area of Dhaka, more than 80 percent areas are filled with concrete structures.  

"Normally 30 to 40 percent water goes underground through the reservoirs and green areas but we have blocked that with concrete structures," he said.

Dhaka is also overpopulated and overburdened with structures; this is the reason for the waterlogging, he said.

"If we can create more water retention and green areas and ensure interconnectivity among waterbodies under a long-term plan then it is possible to solve the waterlogging problem," he said.

Contacted, DSCC Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh said they have so far removed more than 1.35 lakh tonnes of solid waste and 6.79 thousand tonnes of silt from canals and box culverts after taking over from Wasa.

He said they also succeeded in repairing three pumps of two pumping stations and are trying their best to repair three more.

Though during yesterday's rainfall many areas witnessed waterlogging, he said water receded much sooner compared to previous years. The mayor also said there was less number of areas that saw waterlogging this time around.

"We will give priority to the areas that were waterlogged today [yesterday], and we believe we will be able to bring the waterlogging problem to a tolerable level by the next two years," the mayor said.

Contacted, DNCC Mayor Md Atiqul Islam said this waterlogging issue has remained a problem for the last 36 years, which needs time to solve and they are working on it.

He said the number of green spaces has been reduced drastically and replaced with concrete, for which water cannot go underground and has to pass through drains and canals.

"We are working on freeing the canals and excavating those," he said. At the same time, he said, they are observing the situation, learning from it and taking actions accordingly.

The DNCC mayor said two quick response teams are going to be formed to support city dwellers during waterlogging, and people can inform them about their problems through the "Shobar Dhaka" app.