Renovation work of box culvert channel finally starts
Fifteen years after the inception of Shegunbagicha box culvert, a 2.88km channel from Shegunbagicha to Kamalapur railway culvert, the Drainage Department of Dhaka Wasa has begun the renovation work of the channel to check water-logging in a vast area.
Using dredgers, the Wasa engineers are removing the substances that blocked over nine feet of the total 14.1 feet depth of the 16.4 feet wide channel, which is the reason behind water-logging in over 36 square kilometres areas including Shantinagar, Kakrail, Fakirapul, Rajarbagh, Arambagh and Motijheel.
"Waterlogging is a huge problem during the rainy season. It's really difficult to move after a heavy rain, which sustains for several hours,” said a resident of Arambagh.
At present the renovation is going on at three points behind Bangladesh Bank. One team will go to downstream and another will go to upstream, said the engineers.
Executive Engineer of Wasa Drainage Department AKM Shahiduddin said, "It's not possible to renovate the box culvert manually. We are cleaning the box culvert using dredgers. This year we will be able to clean up over three feet of the blocked channel."
He further said use of dredgers would not be harmful for the surface of the culvert.
"We have to clean the channel at least three times a year to remove the garbage, domestic waste and construction materials inside it," Shahiduddin added.
However, locals complained that the garbage removed from the culvert is being dumped on the roadside, creating problem for the commuters and spreading pungent odour.
Asked, engineer Shahiduddin said, "It's a temporary problem. We are dumping the garbage beside the road as we don't have any alternative place. We remove the garbage from the road after a week when these are dried up.”
Project Director of Rainwater-logging Project of Dhaka Wasa Waliullah Sikder, who is also the superintending engineer of Drainage Circle, believes that the ongoing renovation work of Shegunbagicha canal will improve the water-logging problem.
“It's really difficult to carry out regular maintenance and cleaning up of such a long box culvert," he observed.
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