A canal full of polythene
Locals fear severe water-logging as Chaktai canal remains clogged
Residents of KB Aman Ali Road area in port city’s West Bakalia have been suffering from various problems as the adjacent Chaktai canal has been filled with polythene bags.
At the same time, they are aggrieved with the Conservancy Department of Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) for not taking steps to clean it up.
“With the rainy season approaching, we are apprehending water-logging in the area like every year as the flow of water will be interrupted by the polythene bags,” said Abdur Rashid, a retired school teacher and resident of Fultala area on KB Aman Ali Road.
“We don’t know who dumps polythene into the canal but they are definitely some of our neighbours,” he said, adding, “To make matters worse, traders from the makeshift kitchen market on the bank of the canal also dump waste here.”
Tapati Bhattacharjee, a resident of the area, said they face mosquito menace every day, as the canal has become a breeding ground for insects.
It was seen that the canal was filled with polythene bags and other waste materials, starting from Chawkbazar Dhunir Pool area to DC Road Miar Baper Bari area, around a kilometre in south, and from Fultala area to Khalpar near Bogar Bill of Bakalia area, around a quarter kilometre in south-east.
It is estimated that around one lakh people live in DC Road and KB Aman Ali Road areas, adjacent to the banks of the canal.
Contacted, CCC Chief Conservancy Officer Shafiqul Mannan Siddique said as the Chattogram Development Authority (CDA) has undertaken a project to reduce water-logging in the city, it is their responsibility to clean up the canal.
Mannan said they had several meetings with CDA officials and they assured that the canal will be cleaned immediately.
Contacted, Hasan Bin Shams, executive engineer of CDA, said they were cleaning up all the canals in the city one by one.
“The issue of Chaktai canal has come to our notice,” he said, adding, “We will take immediate steps to clean it.”
He suggested talking to Lt Col Abu Sadat Md Tanvir, additional project director of the development project of re-excavation, expansion and cleaning up of canals.
Mentionable, although CDA has initiated the project, Bangladesh Army has been implementing it.
Contacted, Lt Col Tanvir said they have already started cleaning the canal in different portions.