Western embankment de-links canals from rivers

Once there was a network of waterways linking rivers and canals across the capital. If anyone wanted to visit Narayanganj or any other places from Gabtoli through the waterways, it was very much possible.

But the network in most parts of the city has stopped due to the construction of the flood protection embankment in the western part of the city.

During the construction, Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) did not keep the mouth of the canals that linked with Turag and Buriganga rivers open or constructed any of the sluice gates bigger for boats to cross. 

The city had over 50 canals which were not only inter-connected, but also had a link with Buriganga, Shitalakhya, Turag and Balu rivers, surrounding the capital.

But a good number of them started to die and the rowing of boats stopped since the construction of the embankment almost cut them off from the rivers.

The 36km embankment started from Tongi to Killarmore in Lalbagh and the 3.8km flood wall cum road stretched from Killarmore to Postogola (Buriganga bridge-1). But the road constructions from Jatrabari to Tongi via Sayedabad, Maniknagar, Rampura, Kuril Biswa road and Airport road has cordoned off the 136 square km areas, which are considered as the benefited areas of the embankment.

A storm water pumping station at Rampura bridge, constructed in 1993, also became a barrier for the boats plying in canals, which fell under the area.

Since construction of the Rampura storm water pump station, rowing of boats continued only from Rampura bridge near the Rampura TV station to the eastern part. But the waterways from the western and middle part of the city also came to a stop.

The canals including Hazaribagh, Rayerbazar, Ramchandrapur, Katasur, Gabtoli, Kallyanpur main canal and its branches, Dhanmondi, Razabazar, Kathalbagan, Paribagh and Begun Bari had lost its navigability and link.

The construction of box culverts and roads exaggerated the situation and many canals are now alive only in names, while many disappeared.

“Back in 74/75, boats carrying goods would dock at Begunbari canal, which stopped completely after a regulator pump at Rampura was constructed,” said Azizur Rashid Babu, a Moghbazar resident.

Since construction of Tongi Diversion road, built in the 80s, boat movements also reduced, he said.

During a recent visit to the embankment it was found that most of the 54 sluice gates were not properly maintained, and at many points there was no sign of sluice gates.

The ones that were operative were found in a bad condition as the mouths of the gates were almost blocked due to encroachments and continuous garbage dumping.

Contacted, a Wasa official said that they have so far cleaned four sluice gates a few months back and are planning to continue the cleaning works.

“The Rayerbazar canal had a link with Buriganga before the embankment construction and small boats used to ply there,” said Anowar Hossain, an elderly resident of Rayerbazar.

Hazaribagh canal also had a link with Buriganga and confluence with Rayerbazar canal at (now) Rayerbazar's Hashem Khan road. During a recent visit it was found that there was a temporary Wasa pumping station from where the water of Hazaribagh came at the point but there was no sign of Rayerbazar canal. 

BWDB Chief Engineer (central zone) Abul Kalam Azad said the embankment was constructed between 1992 and 2003.

He said under the project three storm water pumping stations were constructed at Goran Chatbari, Kallyanpur and Dholaikhal and 54 sluice gates were constructed.

Prof Emeritus of Brac University Ainun Nishat, a water resources and climate change specialist, said Dhaka was built on the eastern bank of the Buriganga. It is called old Dhaka now, which gradually spread to the east and north side as the portions were highlands, he added.

He said Adabor in Mohammadpur and Kallyanpur (which are now residential areas) used to come under water regularly till 1987. “I saw big boats even in the 70s near Lazz Pharma at Russell Square. There were big boats near Rampura TV station in the 80s also,” he said.

Nishat said the embankment was constructed in haste after the 1988 flood and was reconstructed after demolishing the old one.

The BWDB traditionally controls flood without protecting the waterways, fish routes and water bodies, but now it has started to think about those, he said.

The 11 guiding principals of flood management were prepared in 1989, approved by the cabinet of the then government where it was also mentioned to consider about the environment, he said.

Nishat said it was also recommended to keep the mouths of the canals open and keeping sufficient gates during the embankment construction. But the planning commission at that time approved to construct small sluice gates to reduce expenditure, he said.

Nishat, one of the key members who prepared the management principals, said they had requested the then government to not to go for the embankment, but rather consider road networks.

If they would have considered, the design would have been changed, which would have saved the marshy lands on the western part, he said.

There is Balu river on the north-south side of the eastern part of the city, Turag and Bongshai rivers on the northwest side of the western part, and Burigana is on the southwest and Shitalakhya is situated at the southeast, said Nishat.

He said that probably in the Mughal era, a link was made between Balu and Turag rivers through Tongi canal. There was a river route surrounding the capital and people would enter through different canals.

In the developed countries, they protect their canals, which are navigable and waterbuses run through them and people can move from one side to the other smoothly, he said.

Nishat said during the embankment construction, the sluice gates should have been bigger and a gate should have been kept with the facility of boat crossing so that people could go to the rivers through the canals easily.

In an article published in The Daily Star, Prof Nazrul Islam, former professor of economics, Dhaka University, said the only solution to the conundrum lies in the abandonment of the cordon approach and adoption of the open approach to rivers.

“The process of sealing off the city from her rivers has to be reversed. The canals have to be allowed to meet the rivers,” he said.

Prof Nazrul said the already constructed western embankment has to be transformed from a cordon into an embankment with sluice gates for canal water to pass and also for river water to enter up to the acceptable limit.