Residents in the capital suffered yet again from unbearable waterlogging yesterday as the poor drainage network of the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority failed to route storm water out of the city.
Daily commuters, mostly office goers and students, were affected greatly as most areas of the capital went under knee-deep water. According to the meteorological department, 23mm rainfall was recorded in the capital yesterday morning.
Akhtaruzzaman, an office executive who was seen waiting in front of the main gate of his home at Purana Paltan for a rickshaw, said: “Rain water had clogged all the roads in the area. Not only me,but other offices goers and students could not get to their destinations on time.”
He further claimed that waterlogging had become a regular sight during the monsoon and residents of his area continue to face the hardship every year.
Shamima Sultana, a resident of Shukrabad, said: “Most of the roads in my area have gone under knee-deep water following a short rainfall, my children could not go to school today.”
“Waterlogging is a serious problem in Shukrabad, Rajabazar and Indira road area, but the authorities concerned have taken no steps to resolve it,” she added.
This correspondent also found a similar scenario at city’s Mirpur, Kallayanpur, Mohammadpur, Azimpur, Lalbagh, Zigatala Kallyanpur, Kazipara, Taltola, Shewrapara, Kalabagam, Mouchak, Malibagh, Moghbazar, Shantinagar, Badda, Natun Bazar, Shahjadpur, Sayedabas, Jatrabari and others.
According to the Meteorological Department, Dhaka will be suffering from waterlogging in the coming days where rainfall is expected to be around 22mm to 44mm.
Wasa sources said the prime reason for the waterlogging problem in the city was mainly due to inadequate drainage.
Dhaka City has an area of 360 square kilometers and storm sewage pipes runs only for 280 kilometers, having diameters ranging between 450 to 3000mm. The city has box culverts running for 10.5 kilometers with 913.63 drains and 26 canals of around 60 kilometers with a width of 10m to 30m.
However, the existing drainage system has not been capable of draining out storm water of the city during the monsoon season from May to October.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, a Wasa official, seeking anonymity, said underground drainage of the capital was far from adequate in handling storm water. The network needs to be expanded by another 40 percent, adding that the drains should be properly linked through a scientifically designed network.
The capital’s drainage network was designed to discharges storm water in the surrounding rivers. However, as the city is protected from river flooding by an encircled embankment, the water level of the surrounding rivers goes higher than the drainage level during the monsoon. As a result, the storm water fails to flow out into to the river and gets stuck in the drainage pipes.
Earlier in 2008, Dhaka Wasa undertook a Dhaka Water Supply and Sanitation project, in association with the World Bank, to reclaim 26 canals from grabbers. The project, however, ended in vain.
In the past 25 years, urban planners had pointed out several times that rapid urbanisation of Dhaka city had resulted in substantial increase in impervious area, created obstruction to natural drainage patterns, and reduced the detention basins, which in turn led to the shortening of the runoff concentration time and an increase of the peak flow.
Contacted, Dhaka Wasa Managing Director Taqseem A Khan termed the waterlogging to water congestion.
“The waterlogging had temporarily occurred due to heavy rainfall. However, to drain the extra water, we have installed pumps at different station including Rampura,” he said.
Wasa Deputy Managing Director (Administration) Md Ataur Rahman blamed fund shortages for the poor conditions of the drainage and sewerage system in the city.
“We have already contacted different donor agencies for their support to upgrade this sector,” he added.
Ataur also blamed the city dwellers for littering waste into canals and drains, thereby preventing the free flow of water into the rivers.
