Tk 80 billion spent, yet no respite from water logging

Four projects aiming to eradicate the waterlogging crisis of Chattogram have been going on from 5 to 11 years. The deadline of two of these projects ended in June last year but the work is still not finished. Of the remaining two, work on one project is supposed to end in six months and another in one and half years.  Although nearing completion, 26 problems with these projects have been identified at the last moment.

Chattogram divisional commissioner’s office has prepared a report on the progress, challenge and suggestions. Divisional commissioner Md Ziauddin has submitted the report to higher authorities on 9 January. The report has been forwarded to chief adviser’s principal secretary, cabinet secretary, power, energy and mineral resources ministry secretary and personal secretary to the adviser.

The four projects were taken up at Tk 143.49 billion. A total of Tk 83.12 billion has already been spent. Despite spending such a huge amount, the residents of the port city are yet to get any benefit. Perennial waterlogging problem still persists and the city goes under water during heavy monsoon rains.

Now the projects are not being financed properly. Moreover, the government is facing legal complications in evicting illegal structures built on the banks of canals and canals. As a result, construction work and land acquisition are being stalled. Such obstacles or problems were identified earlier. However, the government has not taken effective steps.

The interim government has been active in addressing the waterlogging problem in Chattogram city since before the start of the monsoon season. Under the direction of chief adviser professor Muhammad Yunus, a meeting was held on 5 January to determine what to do to resolve the waterlogging problem. Three advisers—Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, Syeda Rizwana Hasan and Faruk-e-Azam—were present. Nine decisions were taken in the meeting held in the conference room of the power, energy and mineral resources ministry. The responsibilities of each organisation have been determined. Earlier, the Chattogram divisional commissioner held a meeting with the three organizations implementing the project on 2 January.

Four advisors will hold a meeting on Sunday afternoon to discuss water logging issues with stakeholders. They are Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Adilur Rahman Khan and Faruk-e-Azam. They inspect the project work today.

Chattogram city corporation’s mayor Shahadat Hossain pinned hope on positive results regarding the water logging problems due to government initiatives. He said the chief adviser has given charge to four advisers to oversee the development. They will hold a special meeting in Chattogram. The Chattogram Development Authorities’ (CDA) project had 36 canals. 21 more canals would be included in the project. The waterlogging problem will be solved 90 to 100 per cent.

Among the four projects, CDA is implementing two projects while City Corporation and Water Development Board one each.  Despite involvement of the three organisations, heavy rainfall and tidal waters inundate the city 10 to 13 times in every monsoon season.

As per the report, the projects require Tk 6.62 billion for infrastructure development and land acquisition. But the amount is not defrayed.
Among the four projects, the project worth Tk 86.26 billion titled ‘Re-excavation, expansion, renovation and development of canals to reduce waterlogging in Chattogram  city’, has the highest number of 16 problems. Apart from not receiving the necessary funds, the notable problems of this project are the filling of canals and drains due to hill cutting and deforestation. Despite cleaning the canals and drains, they are filled with garbage due to lack of awareness among the people. There are complications in removing illegal structures built on the banks of the canals and in the canal area, and there are obstacles in construction work due to the lack of roads next to the canals.

The 34th Engineer Construction Brigade (ECB) of the army is working on the implementation of the project taken by the CDA. The project work has already progressed by 75 per cent. Tk 45.16 billion has been spent. The project will end in June next year.

The new canal excavation project from Baraipara to the Karnaphuli river, which was approved 11 years ago and was being implemented at a cost of Tk 13.62 billion, ended in June last year. The project term has not been extended later. The city corporation has cited three obstacles, including the non-extension of the term. The other two are the complexity of the land acquisition case and the complexity of administrative approval for obtaining two and a half acres of land for canal maintenance.

Among the main four obstacles in the road construction project from Kalurghat bridge to Chaktai canal along the banks of the Karnaphuli river, the main is no release of the required funds. The others are complexities relating to compensation related to land acquisition and non-availability of funds to procure lands. The project worth Tk 27.79 billion is supposed to end in June. The progress of the project is 78 per cent.

The Water Development Board's project titled 'Flood Control, waterlogging /waterlogging mitigation, drainage and development of Chattogram city' is also facing a major problem due to the non-availability of the required allocation. The other two problems are related to land acquisition and the non-availability of Tk 3.2 billion in funds. Although the period of this project costing Tk 16.2 billion ended in June last year, the time has not been extended yet.

In the meeting in Dhaka attended by three advisers on 5 January, the roles of the organisations were determined. District administration, police and department of environment have been charged to take steps in stopping hill cutting, the city corporation has been tasked with cleansing the canal and drains and CDA, water development board and 34 ECB of the army have been given the charge of making sluice gates to prevent tidal surges work. Office of the divisional commissioner will hold a meeting each month to coordinate the works. Port authorities will look after dredging to maintain the navigability of the Karnaphuli river.

Delowar Majumder, former chairman of Engineers Institution, Bangladesh (IEB) Chattogram chapter, said the projects were faulty and incomplete. The problems were identified earlier but no effective steps were taken. The interim government has to emphasize on solving the problems that have been identified. Special attention has to be given to fund allocation and resolving of cases related to land acquisition. Otherwise waterlogging problems cannot be solved effectively.