Fouzul Kabir Khan's column
Waterlogging in Chattogram: What is to be done
The residents of the city must join hands in resisting the hill destroyers and canal encroachers, halting the use of polythene bags and PET bottles. If not, even spending double or triple the present amount of Tk 120 billion on resolving Chattogram city's waterlogging, will go on vain
Assuaging public suffering is one of the major tasks of the interim government. Waterlogging in Chattogram city is one of the main causes of public suffering. The chief advisor has assigned Adilur Rahman Khan, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Asif Mahmud and me to determine what is to be done to resolve this problem before the onset of monsoon. On 5 January we held a meeting in Dhaka with various government offices and agencies, teachers, researchers and other stakeholders to look into the problem and its solution. Then on 18 January we directly inspected the progress made so far on the project to resolve the waterlogging problem and made an effort to understand the cause and extent of the problem. The next day we met with government offices and agencies, teachers, researchers and other stakeholders yet again at the Chattogram Circuit House.
Chattogram city, perched on the mouth of the river Karnaphuli, is somewhat different from other cities. There had quite a few hills and hillocks in and around the city. There had been 57 canals that drained away rainwater. As the land was sloped, the water would easily run down into the canals. As I grew up in Chattogram, that is what I was used to seeing from childhood. So why is there is waterlogging now?
The cause
There are two main causes behind the waterlogging in Chattogram city -- one is indiscriminate razing of hills. The other is filling up of the canals. When the hills are levelled, the slopes become levelled and the water gets blocked. Then again, the sand from the hills fills the canals and decreases their depth, hampering the canals' capacity to drain out flood and rainwater. Also, buildings are illegally constructed within the BS boundary of the canals, narrowing them down and decreasing their capacity to carry away flood and rain water. The last reason is the deterioration of the city waste disposal management. Worst among the water are polythene and PET bottles. During our inspections we found the surface of the canals covered with such waste.
From the above it is clear that the waterlogging in Chattogram city is manmade and nature's revenge.
What is to be done
After the meeting in Dhaka, 9 tasks were identified to be done before the coming monsoon. It was determined who were to be assigned the different tasks, how these were to be carried out, what support would be required and, accordingly, a matrix and Gantt chart was prepared and sent to the concerned offices and agencies. The work to be done includes: a. Preventing the razing of all hills in Chattogram city; b. Taking measures to clear all primary, secondary and tertiary drain in the city; c. Completing construction of the under-construction sluicegates and regulators as soon as possible to ensure water drainage; d. Cleaning the canals in Chattogram city, removing illegal structures along he canals and speedily carrying out the dredging; e. Taking necessary measures to prevent garbage disposal here and there; f. Carrying out maintenance dredging of Karnaphuli river to maintain its navigability and depth; and, g. Setting up pump houses at the waterlogging hotspots.
These tasks were assigned to the district administration, the district police, Chattogram City Corporation, Chittagong Development Authority, Bangladesh Water Development Board, 34 Engineering Construction Brigade of the army; the Chittagong Port Authority and some other agencies.
Four-month plan of action
Later, after inspecting the various ongoing projects related to resolving the waterlogging problem, the concerned agencies submitted their work plans for the next four months. After discussing these plans of action, the following decisions were adopted:
1. The district administration and police would immediately take steps to stop all hill cutting, power and WASA lines would be severed in these areas. 2. The use of polythene and PET bottles would be limited and recycling arrangements would be introduced for the disposal of such products. 3. The projects being implemented by the army on behalf of the Chattogram City Corporation and Chittagong Development Authority must be completed rapidly so the city residents avail the benefits by the next monsoon. 4. Discussions were held on the narrowness of the sluice gates and the low capacity of the pumps set up by the water resources ministry. The water resources ministry will take measures in this regard. 5. The Chittagong Port Authority will step up maintenance dredging to ensure the water drains away speedily. 6. The height of the culverts which obstruct water flow will be increased and WASA and other utility lines will be removed. These organisations have been told action will be taken against the persons and organisations shirking their duties and the future of the ongoing projects will be decided on the basis of the success of the present interventions.
Support, demanded and committed
During the presentation, (a) support was sought to settle all under-trial cases pertaining to illegal occupation. (b) Request was made to post a required number of executive magistrates to Chattogram City Corporation and Chittagong Development Authority for mobile court to prevent people from indiscriminate garbage disposal. (c) Finally (1) Cleaning Chattogram city's primary, secondary and tertiary drains and later (2) making a lump-sum allocation for disposal and then dumping of waste in different categories. And (d) a request was made for a coordination committee to be formed.
During the discussions, the leader of a political party said that if his party was given responsibility, they would take up a volunteer programme and clean a few kilometers of drains free of cost.
From our side we committed to have the cases resolved, post the required number of executive magistrates for the mobile courts, form a coordination committee, and provide the lump-sum allocation. In the meantime, arrangements have been made for special allocation to the Food for Work Programme and from the local government to the city corporation, to clean up the primary, secondary and tertiary drains, to ensure that the people dispose of their garbage in specific places and, garbage is collected and dumped according to category. To this end, advisor Adilur Rahman Khan and the mayor of Chattogram will launch a cleanliness campaign there on 1 February. The executive magistrates will be posted very soon to provide legal support in removing illegal encroachment and to run the mobile court.
Social movement must be mobilised
As mentioned before, the waterlogging problem in Chattogram city is entirely manmade and the revenge of nature. That is why a social movement must be mobilised to address the issue. The residents of the city must join hands in resisting the hill destroyers and canal encroachers, halting the use of polythene bags and PET bottles. If not, even spending double or triple the present amount of Tk 120 billion on resolving Chattogram city's waterlogging, will go on vain. We appeal to the people of the city to extend their cooperation. Only then will this sincere initiative of the chief advisor be a success and Chattogram will be rid of waterlogging.
* Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan is the interim government's advisor for power, energy, roads, bridges and railway
* This column appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ayesha Kabir