Most city drains clogged
Due to unplanned waste disposal and improper waste management, most drains of Khulna City Corporation (KCC) have turned into garbage heaps.
As a result, residents are not only facing environmental degradation and health risks due to blockages in the drainage system, but also contamination of water resources near uncontrolled dumping sites.
More alarmingly, these clogged drains have now become ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes.
According to KCC, the total length of drainage network of the city is 651.50 kilometres -- 291.23km are made of concrete, 55km are half concrete and 305km are soil drains.
Locals alleged that conservancy workers of the city corporation seldom clean the drains while officials claimed since very few drains are covered, locals use those as dumping spots.
This correspondent visited wards 5, 6, 9, 14, 19, and 21 last week to observe the drainage condition, and found most of the drains full of plastic, bottles, rags etc.
In some cases, water could not flow properly through them, while many were covered with thick layers of discarded plastic waste. Some of the drains were also found damaged.
"During the last three months, I did not see any conservancy worker cleaning the drain," said Abdur Rob, who runs a grocery shop in Bastuhara Kitchen Market, maintained by KCC.
Like Abdur Rob, around eight shopkeepers conduct their business in the area.
On top of that, every morning around 15 traders sell vegetables there.
But there is no dumpster or STS (secondary transfer station) there and vendors dump their discarded materials and waste into the nearby drain.
"The city corporation needs to come up with an arrangement for managing waste at the market," said Rob.
Beside Sheikh Abu Naser Hospital, a large drain flows from there to Goalkhali via Khalishpur area. However, most of it remains choked by garbage. It has been filled up to the extent that grass and small plants were growing on them.
Kamal Hossain, a resident of Mujgunni residential, said lack of maintenance and monitoring of some portion of the drain has blocked water passage.
He said often dirty water overflows on roads. "Stagnant water and dumped waste not just create nuisance for pedestrians and locals, it also brought back mosquito menace," he added.
The situation was graver beside Sonadanga-Notunrasta road. The drain next to BSN market, where 30 shops including drugstores and diagnostic centres operate, has become clogged with garbage including medical waste.
Dilip Kumar Datta, professor of environmental science at Khulna University, told The Daily Star that water stuck in blocked drains sometimes contaminate water supply line, and cause waterborne diseases.
Asked, Md Abdul Aziz, chief conservancy officer of KCC, however claimed that KCC regularly cleans all drains to ease water flow and stop breeding of mosquitoes.
When pointed out the condition of the drainage system, he said, "It's a continuous process but shortage of manpower sometimes interrupts the work flow."
Mentionable, over 509 employees, including 203 permanent workers, are employed in the conservancy department of KCC. About 580 to 600 tonnes of waste is produced daily in Khulna city, of which KCC has a collection capacity of 65-70 percent, Aziz said.
"It's in our nature to dump waste in drains. People have to come forward to assist us to solve the issue. Many residents do not want to go to the garbage collection points and throw waste in drains or footpath… we have to change our mindset," he stressed.
While visiting different areas including Boyra, Mujgunnin, Khalishpur, Boikali and Daulatpur, this correspondent saw there were only seven waste bins available. A dumpster was seen near Abu Naser hospital.
This newspaper spoke to many locals, they said they were reluctant to walk long stretches to throw waste in a disposal place.
"We are trying to establish more concrete waste containers and portable small bins to collect waste. We are also planning to cover the drains," assured the chief conservancy official.
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