Moderate rain exposes poor drainage in city
For three hours after 9:00am yesterday, there was a rainfall of 38mm in the capital, which is considered to be a moderate downpour.
But this was enough to send many neighbourhoods and main streets knee-deep in water, thanks to poor drainage systems.
Fewer people ventured outdoors due to the lockdown, but those who did suffered on the flooded streets.
Urban planners blame the gradual decline in the number of water bodies that act as reservoirs and recent lackluster cleaning efforts by the city corporations for the mess.
Residents posted pictures of padestrians, rickshaw pullers, and motorists on flooded parts of Dhanmondi 27, Green Road, West Nakhalpara, Rajarbagh, Tezturibazar, Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue, Gandaria DIT Plot, Kazipara and Gopoibagh.
Maleka Banu, who lives on the ground floor of a building in Poshchim Kazipara, said she had to put everything in her house on the beds and the tables because there was water on the floor.
It takes over eight hours for the water to recede in such cases in her neighbourhood, she said.
Akbar Ali, a grocery store owner in the area, said, "Some of the goods were damaged because the shop was flooded. There was knee-deep water on the road in front of my shop until 4:00 pm."
Iqbal Habib, joint secretary of Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon, said, "Lockdown or not, the cleaning activities must go on, ."
The two city corporations should not fail us.
It is unfortunate that the authorities have not done anything to make rainwater drain to Dhanmondi Lake from near Rapa Plaza on Dhanmondi 27, he said. There should have been no waterlogging in the area so close to the lake.
"Water must flow to the rivers through the drainage network and the canals without interruption," said Habib.
The city corporations must begin by clearing all the clogged canals. Then they will have to reclaim the canals lost to illegal encroachment.
Eventually, they will also have to recover the water retention areas, he added.
The two city corporations on December 31 formally took charge of managing and maintaining 26 canals, 10km of box culverts and 385km of storm water drains from Dhaka Wasa.
Earlier, the Dhaka north and south city corporations were in charge of the sewer pipes and surface drains.
Adil Mohammad Khan, general secretary of Bangladesh Institute of Planners, said a standard urban planning dictates that 10 to 15 percent of the city space are water reservoirs and 20 to 25 percent are green areas. But in Dhaka city, more than 80 percent of the real estate is occupied by concrete.
"Normally 30 to 40 percent of the water goes underground through the reservoirs and green areas. But we prevented that from happening with concrete structures," he said.
"You can't expect everything to be solved overnight, because the city was built without a plan. What can be done quickly is unclogging the drains. The city corporations should identify the problems in drainage and take prompt steps.
"But in the long run, we need to have more water retention, green areas, and connect the water bodies," he said.
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