Waterlogging in CTG: Mayor blames it on the residents
Chattogram City Corporation Mayor Rezaul Karim Chowdhury yesterday said irresponsible city dwellers are one of the reasons behind waterlogging in the port city.
People throw polythene and plastic wastes into drains and canals, cut hills and occupy canals, which cause waterlogging, he said.
Talking in a press conference after a meeting over waterlogging, he told reporters, "As the canals and drains are filled up with polythene and plastic waste, rain water cannot recede quickly, causing waterlogging."
"A polythene layer of seven-metre deep has been created on the Karnaphuli river bed; so it cannot contain rain water," he said. "Dredging the river has become difficult due to that," he added.
There used to be 72 canals in the city, but now the number has declined to 57, he said. Many of those were occupied by influential people, he added.
The mayor also criticised the Department of Environment (DoE) for failing to stop hill cutting.
When journalists asked him why the CCC conservancy workers did not clean the drains and canals, he said they cleaned those on a regular basis, but people throw plastic and polythene wastes hours later.
"The Chattogram Development Authority has been working on 36 canals under a mega project to address waterlogging. But they did not excavate soil from those, so the canals could not contain the rain water," he said.
He said the CDA authorities have assured him of taking necessary actions in this regard after yesterday's meeting.
"After completion of the project, we hope the city dwellers will get relief from waterlogging," he said.
The mayor also stated that this month had the most rain in 30 years, which contributed to the city's severe waterlogging this year.
Meanwhile, in a press conference on Wednesday, CDA chairman Jahirul Alam Dobhash alleged that as the CCC was not competent, the government entrusted CDA with the mega project for addressing waterlogging.
When journalists brought the remark of the CDA Chairman before the CCC mayor yesterday, he said it might be a slip of tongue.
"Every service providing authority has capability... all are competent," said the mayor, adding, "We should not take this remark seriously."
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