Rescuing water bodies from grabbers an imperative

The government must immediately reclaim the designated flood flow zones, water retention areas, and canals from realtors and encroachers to save the capital city from recurrent flooding, experts said at a discussion at Dhaka South City Corporation office yesterday.

The two city corporations and Wasa have to ensure that solid waste do not clog the storm drainage system, said Prof Md Mujibur Rahman of Buet, while giving a presentation.

Blocking drains and canals with waste, destroying flood plains, and grabbing of rivers hamper the drainage system leading to flooding even with light rainfall, he said.

Concrete paving of open spaces and filling-up of designated water retention ponds and wetlands have aggravated the situation, the professor added at the discussion on waterlogging in Dhaka and solutions.

DSCC in association with the Institute of Architects, Bangladesh; the Institute of Engineers, Bangladesh; the Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP), and Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) organised the discussion.

Taqsem A Khan, managing director at Wasa, said Rajuk filled up 53 acres of marshy land and sold those as housing plots in Uttara; Wasa acquired those for connecting existing canals.

Md Sirajul Islam, Rajuk's chief town planner, said it occurred because the site was "not carefully designed".

Dhaka South Mayor Sayeed Khokon said flooding had taken a turn for the worst like traffic congestion, and that the prime minister assured of required fund to solve the problem.

Both Khokon and Dhaka North Mayor Annisul Huq mentioned that there was no alternative to having city governments to solve such grave problems.