C T Online Desk: A relentless downpour hammered the capital city of Dhaka for six hours on Friday, turning streets in many areas into canals mainly due to the poor drainage system, and causing great suffering for the city dwellers.
The rain from 6am to 12pm submerged the areas like Motijheel, Shantinagar, Malibagh, Dhaka Medical College Hospital, New Market, Dhanmondi, Green Road, Tejgaon, Farmgate, Mirpur, Kazipara, Shewrapara and Mohammadpur.
Although traffic was thin on the holiday, those who ventured outside had to wade through waterlogged streets.
Drivers were seen pulling their vehicles on the waterlogged roads in many areas as those broke down after water entered their engines.
Many shops and houses in different areas also went under water.
According to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, 130 millimetre of rainfall was recorded in the six hours from 6:00am to 12:00pm.
Students of Dhaka University said rainwater entered different dormitories, including Dr Muhammad Shahidullah Hall.
Urban planners said the authorities of Dhaka South City Corporation (DNCC) and Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) have been spending millions of taka every year but failing to resolve the waterlogging problem.
Faisal, a resident student of Shahidullah Hall, told the Daily Sun that rainwater entered the ground floor of the Ataur Rahman Khadem Building.
“This is for the first time that water entered our hall buildings and washed away our rooms. The rainwater got mixed with dirty water from our toilets forcing us to leave our rooms,” he said.
Faisal also said, “The road in front of the hall has been cut three times in the last four months for work on various lines of the city corporation. Due to this, the drainage lines of the road got clogged.”
Traders of Mohammadpur Krishi Market said rainwater entered the market as the level of road by the market is much higher.
General Secretary of the Rice Traders Association of Krishi Market Monirul Islam Montu said around 200 wholesale traders were the victims of the waterlogging as rice, pulses and sugar were damaged by rainwater.
He said many houses in the surrounding areas were submerged by water after the heavy rain.
Kamrun Nahar, a resident of the Green Road area, said like Friday, the residents of the area are experiencing inundation by rainwater regularly when it rains.
“We can’t get out of our houses as knee to waist-deep water inundates the area regularly during rain. Rainwater mixing with black drain water enters our houses making living impossible,” she said, demanding that the DSCC should work to end the problem.
DNCC officials claimed that over 5,000 cleaners and 10 Quick Response Teams (QRT) have been engaged in addressing the waterlogging caused by the heavy rain.
Each QRT consists of 10 members and is actively operating in 10 different zones to ensure swift water drainage, said DNCC Public Relations Officer Mokbul Hossain.
Till 12pm, water was drained out from some streets to ease traffic while five pumps stationed in Kalyanpur were operating in unison since morning to expedite water removal, he said.
Residents were urged to inform the DNCC by calling its hotline at 16106 if there is waterlogging, as the QRT will instantly respond.
The waterlogging situation is being continuously monitored with immediate measures being taken to address the issue, the said DNCC.
DSCC officials said they sent 100 teams to different wards to resolve the waterlogging problem and were operating all pump stations at Kamalapur and Dholaikhal to pump out rainwater.
Reasons behind poor drainage
DNCC Superintending Engineer (Drainage) Faruque Hassan Md Al Masud said Kazipara and Shewrapara get clogged due to the encroachment on the Kalyanpur Gha Khal and people experience waterlogging due to construction flaws in drains at Tolarbag.
He said, “We’re taking an initiative to reclaim and dig the Kalyanpur Gha Khal which is the main channel for draining out rainwater of Kazipara and Shewrapara and finally ends up in Kalyanpur retention pond. We’re also taking the initiative to construct a new slope for passing rainwater as the existing one is higher than the source area of rainwater.”
DSCC Superintending Engineer Khairul Baker said, “Rainwater can’t run through our drainage lines due to siltation with waste. Most of our drainage lines are clogged with plastics and polybags. It’s taking time to pump out rainwater today (Friday) to due to the severity of rainfall.”
Blaming city residents, he said if they did not throw the waste into the drainage lines, they would not have to suffer from waterlogging.
Talking to the Daily Sun, former President of Bangladesh Institute of Planners Fazle Reza Sumon said the waterlogging problem cannot be resolved without ensuring uninterrupted flow of city canals.
He said, “Many canals has been turned into box culverts and inlet and outlet points are getting covered with waste and causing delay in water passing. Besides, roads were constructed on canals. It’s also causing rainwater to clog in a certain area.”
Sumon also said, “The city corporations in Dhaka are now removing sludge from canals and constructing new drains which won’t help end the problem. We need to ensure proper flow of canals.”
