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Waterlogging in the capital less than last year Dhaka Waterlogging
Screengrab from YouTube An inundated street in Dhaka

Waterlogging in the capital less than last year

Bangladesh Live News | @banglalivenews | 09 Jun 2021, 07:41 pm

Dhaka, June 9: Due to unplanned urbanization, when it rains a little, the main roads of the capital get inundated. There is no limit to the suffering of the people for the last one decade. However, some of the initiatives taken by the two city corporations will reduce the suffering this season, said the city planner and the two mayors. The people of the capital have seen the benefits of that demand in the heavy rains of the first week of June.

According to estimates, the capital would have been submerged if it had rained above 50 mm in the past years. This year too, different messages have been received in the rains of June 1 and June 5. At the beginning of the season, 113 mm of rainfall has been recorded in 24 hours. Of this, 85 mm of rain was seen inundating different areas of the city.

The city corporation said that after understanding the responsibility from WASA, the canal had been cleaned by the two cities with their own funds. The work of the two cities has cost about Tk 200 crore. About a few lakh tonnes of waste had been removed from the canals.

It may be mentioned that all the canals and canals in the capital which have been in charge of WASA since December 31 were handed over to the two city corporations. The Dhaka North and South City Corporation then assured the people of Dhaka that they would be 'largely' freed from waterlogging. Although the rains of June 1 and June 5 hinted at the main roads of the capital, it was seen on the spot that the promises made by the two corporations have not been fully implemented in the lower areas yet.

In the last few years, the Shantinagar area of ​​Dhaka has been the main center of waterlogging. But this time in the rain, the opposite picture has been seen. Although there was waterlogging in some surrounding areas, it did not happen in Shantinagar. Dhaka South City Corporation said that if it rained, knee water would be created in this area. This water did not move for a long time In this situation, South City has implemented a big project. As a result, waterlogging in Shantinagar has reduced by about 80 percent in the current monsoon season.

The people concerned say that even in the past years, there was severe waterlogging in these areas. The city corporation is implementing small area-wise plans to solve this problem. However, urban experts say that it is necessary to implement a comprehensive and long-term action plan, not area-based. Only then can this 'curse' be completely eradicated.