Tk 898cr project okayed to revive 4 Dhaka canals
The government has approved a project to revive four canals of Dhaka to reduce the capital's waterlogging woes.
The Tk 898.73-crore project was okayed by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council meeting yesterday, chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The canals are Kalunagar, Jirani, Manda and Shyampur under Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC). Total length of the canals is 19.78 km, of which, Kalanagar is 2.4 km, Jirani is 3.9 km, Manda is 8.7 km and Shyampur 4.78 km.
The canals will be freed from encroachers and pollution, according to the project insiders.
Besides, 38.06 km of boundary walls, 36 pedestrian bridges, 19 bridges for vehicular movement, 10 public toilets, 32.44 km walkways, four plazas, bicycle lanes and 771 lights will also be set up as part of the project.
The project was sent to the planning commission in September 2021 and is scheduled to be completed within December 2024.
Planning Minister MA Mannan at a press briefing after the meeting said these canals are polluted and buildings were constructed over them.
Saying the canals will be recovered and cleaned, the minister added, "We approved this project on a priority basis. The DSCC mayor will have to implement it."
A feasibility study of the project has already been carried out, he added.
Echoing the same, Md Mamun Al Rashdi, secretary of planning division, said the prime minister stressed the importance of canals at the meeting.
Khairul Baker, DSCC engineer and project coordinator, said all groundwork has been completed and works will start upon receiving a written notice of the Ecnec approval.
He said they will recover the canals from encroachers and also carry out a cleaning and excavation programme.
DSCC and Dhaka North City Corporation formally took over the responsibilities of 26 canals and 10 kilometres of box culverts from Dhaka Wasa on December 31, 2020, aiming to reduce waterlogging.
Of them, DSCC took charge of 11 canals.
Few months after this development, DSCC Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh told The Daily Star that they have taken short-, mid- and long-term plans for reviving the waterbodies.
"We will initially revive four canals under our long-term plan -- Manda, Kalunagar, Jirani and Syampur -- which play a vital role in the city's drainage system," he said.
Apart from the canal project, Ecnec also approved a Tk 122.03-crore project titled "Improving the Reliability and Safety on National Highways Corridors of Bangladesh by Introduction of Intelligent Transport System".
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