Ponds in Dhaka City: Crucial in tackling fire incidents, yet not protected

In every fire incident, water bodies, especially ponds, can play an important role in putting out the flames. And yet there is no proper initiative to protect ponds in Dhaka.

Experts say ponds not only play a vital role in dousing flames but also enhance the beauty of their surroundings, create a healthy atmosphere and ease waterlogging.

Tuesday's fire at Bangabazar proved the importance of ponds again as firefighters fought the blaze with water from a pond at Dhaka University's Shahidullah Hall when they were facing scarcity of water.

A total of 3,464 ponds has been marked on the recently published Detailed Area Plan-2022 of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) in its 1,528sqkm jurisdiction.

Of them, 1,188 are in Gazipur region; 1,002 in Narayanganj region; 609 in Kaliganj and Rupganj regions; 277 in Keraniganj region; 205 in central Dhaka region; and 183 in Savar region.

Rajuk Chairman Anisur Rahman Miah told The Daily Star that the water bodies conservation act-2000 stipulates that even the privately owned ponds cannot be filled and that's why the Rajuk was taking initiatives in this regard.

Anisur said they would also request different organisations to protect their ponds.

Some 65 ponds were marked on the map of the undivided Dhaka city corporation based on a survey carried out between 2003 and 2011. The ponds were located in 28 out of 90 wards.

This correspondent visited all the 65 locations of the ponds in 2017, but found many of those were already filled. Some more were filled later in the name of urbanisation.

According to the Playground, Open Spaces, Gardens, and Water Bodies Conservation Act-2000, no one can fill water bodies or stop the natural flow of water.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) last year filled a large water body to the east of the Hajj Camp in the capital's Ashkona for a housing project for its officials and employees.

The aviation regulator did not even taken permission from Rajuk to fill the around 30-acre pond, which had long been used as a water retention pond for Ashkona, Uttarkhan and Dakshinkhan areas.

However, Caab Chairman Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman had told The Daily Star that they were implementing the project without affecting the environment.

According to a 2019 study by the Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP), the central Dhaka area lost 3,440 acres out of 9,556 acres of its flood flow zones, water retention areas, and water bodies since the publication of Dhaka's DAP in 2010.

Urban planning expert Adil Mohammad Khan said water bodies are supposed to cover Dhaka city's 12 to 15 percent area considering its population but the coverage in central Dhaka area is only around five percent.

"We didn't feel the necessity of protecting area-based ponds even though different structures have been constructed filling ponds over the years. We have also built roads and box culverts on canals destroying the water network," he said.

According to planning standards, there should be at least one pond in a small ward and three in a big ward, he said.

Ponds should be protected not only in the capital but also in other cities and towns, and the government will have to take necessary immediate steps in this regard, said Adil, also a former general secretary of BIP.

"A new provision has been incorporated in the DAP-2022 for transfer of development rights. Using these rights, we can even protect private ponds," he said.

Iqbal Habib, joint secretary of Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon, said a pond or an alternative hydrant system is a must in a particular area, but unfortunately there is no hydrant system in the capital and the ponds are also being filled.

Since wetland protection act-2000 came into force, there is no scope for filling a single pond or water body, but the law is not enforced, he added.

"The main reason for filling ponds in Dhaka city is that the owners think they will get high prices for those. But they don't understand their actual value.

"For the greater interest of Dhaka city, we have to think anew to protect our ponds and all other water bodies," he said.