Bangladesh News

Despite the emergency measures taken by the government, including excavation and cleaning of canals in the Dhaka-Narayanganj-Demra (DND) dam area, to check severe waterlogging, the region looks set to suffer from water logging for some time more.

Indiscriminate fish farming and encroachment of canals are contributing to the continual waterlogging in the area.

About 20 lakh residents of the DND dam have to live with the risk as the authorities concerned fail to take long-term measures to improve the situation.

Local people blame the continual growth of fishing farms in the area, including Matuail, Dakkhinpara, Muslimnagar, Mogolpara and Medical Road, for the waterlogging.

Another factor contributing to the problem is the encroachment of canals that are being filled up to set up gas and petrol filling stations in the area.

Over the years several hundred fishing farms have mushroomed in this area. Azim Uddin, a resident of Medical Road in south Matuail, said there are at least 50 such farms in the area he lives.

The fishing farms block openings for flow of water into the canals to maintain their ponds, leading to waterlogging. The government last year removed the barricades put up by local fish farmers in north Matuail but not south Matuail, Azim said.

Another resident of the area, Nasrin said, ”We were almost marooned in our homes in waist-deep-water for around four months last year. We live in continuous fear that the situation might repeat anytime, especially during the monsoons.”

Like her, all other residents blame the government for not taking any effective steps to improve drainage system in the area.

The 31.162 km of canals in the DND area, which have been excavated and cleaned, are now being filled up again due to garbage dumping. In places, encroachment has led to narrowing of canals.

Eleven gas and petrol filling stations have been given permits to set up along the road from Rayerbagh to Saddam Market during the last BNP-led four-party alliance government.

The canal, adjoining Dhaka Chittagong highway, is being illegally occupied to set up these stations.

“The canal, which was over 100 feet wide has been narrowed down at points to only 12 feet,” Mostafiz, a resident of Paradaga told The Daily Star.

He said the canal adjoining the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway was dug in 1988 and was linked to Shiddhirganj near Kanchpur. But due to encroachment and garbage dumping filling up the canal, areas including Paradaga, Matuail and Kajla now face severe water logging during the rains.

Sharaft Ullah Kajal, owner of Multimedia CNG filling station along this road, said they were allotted the position on the canal in 2003.

“Ten other stations got their allotments around the same time,” he said adding that all the stations are leaving a 4-metre wide, 3-metre deep drainage passage behind their stations to allow the flow of the canal to continue.

“We have followed 100 percent government rules to set up the stations,” he claimed.

An official of Bangladesh Water Development Board said apart from encroachment or filling up of canals, unplanned urbanisation is another reason behind waterlogging in the area.

Architect Iqbal Habib, member secretary of Urbanisation and Good Governance Committee of Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon, said the canal excavation brought some benefit to the local residents.

However to get real results, the government has to complete the total plan including setting up of two more pump houses and improvement of the drainage system, he said.

He pointed out the faults in the area where land slopes had not been ensured for the water to move towards the canal. This could be the main cause of waterlogging in the DND area, Iqbal said.

Md Masud Ahmed, executive engineer of Water Development Board (WDB) division-2, said under long-term planning, a Tk 235.33 crore project proposal was prepared in 2005. The proposal based on field level reports and studies conducted by JICA in 1992, did not get government approval.

“Following a decision of the project evaluation committee in September, 2006, we have been running a Tk 11.97 crore project as part of emergency programmes. This include a feasibility study and canal excavation,” he said.

The feasibility study, begun in February this year, will be completed by February 15, 2009. Based on that, a long-term project proposal will be formulated,” he said.

Meanwhile, about 99 percent of the excavation of the 31.162 km stretch of canals, started in December last year, have been completed.

Seventy-five percent work of the demolition of 380 illegal structures has also been completed.

The DND dam was constructed between 1962 and 1968 as an irrigation project to make the land cultivable for three harvests a year. Of the total land under the DND project area, residential abodes have been built on 85 per cent of the land, according to a BWDB source.