On Tuesday, the water-logged streets of Dhaka were a rather unpleasant reminder of what makes Dhaka so unliveable.
Of course, this is a seasonal sight for the citizens of Dhaka.
During the monsoon, the city comes to a standstill because of water-logging resulting from the incessant rainfall. Coupled with a faulty drainage system, and ill-planned roads and highways, flooding is as expected as the season itself.
At the crux of the issue lies a distinct lack of cooperation between our city corporations and administrative bodies such as Dhaka Wasa, who have consistently failed to work in tandem in coming up with any tangible solutions to this specific issue.
Besides lack of cooperation, another problem that exacerbates this issue is the woeful condition of our waste disposal management. Due to ineffective waste management, waste littered on the streets clog up the already broken drainage infrastructure and further worsen the flooding.
Residents of Dhaka should not have to suffer like this due to the negligence of our administration.
No city can function properly with major obstacles such as flooding to this degree, more so when they occur on a yearly basis and for prolonged periods.
And given the impressive progress we have made with regards to improving our infrastructure, it is a shame that water-logging continues to be one of the biggest impediments to our cities achieving their true potential in terms of liveability.
We need to find a way out of these waters as soon as possible.