Five years after responsibility for drainage and canal management was transferred from Dhaka WASA to the two city corporations, waterlogging continues to plague large parts of the capital, raising questions about the effectiveness of the change.
On Sunday, a six-hour downpour brought 76 millimeters of rain and once again flooded roads, stopped traffic, and disrupted businesses.
According to several sources, Dhaka’s two city corporations have invested Tk1,316 crore over five years to construct and repair urban drains in an effort to address the city’s persistent waterlogging.
According to official records, Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) spent Tk711 crore to build and renovate approximately 696 kilometers of urban drains, while Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) spent Tk605.54 crore to renovate and expand its drainage network, covering nearly 597 kilometers of interconnected drains.
These figures reflect only part of Dhaka's total drainage costs.
Before the transfer of stormwater management to the city corporations, Dhaka WASA spent an additional Tk1,000 crore over three years addressing similar waterlogging problems.
Additionally, both city corporations spend Tk200 crore to Tk 300 crore annually on routine maintenance, waste removal, and emergency pumping.
Dhaka's drainage expenditure increased further as DSCC undertook a new government-funded Tk898 crore canal restoration project, which is scheduled for completion by 2027. The project aims to reclaim and clean four key southern canals, Kalunagar, Shyampur, Jirani, and Manda, to improve stormwater drainage into nearby rivers.
However, officials from both city corporations say they have kept working to improve drainage infrastructure since taking over in 2021. From 2021 to 2024, they built and upgraded over 334 kilometers of drains and box culverts.
During Sunday's rain, DNCC sent out 21 Quick Response Teams and more than 360 sanitation workers to clear blocked catchpits, remove canal waste, and run pump stations to speed up water drainage.
Officials say that heavy rain in a short time can overwhelm the drainage system, especially when catchpits and inlets are blocked by plastic and sediment.
The Detailed Area Plan (DAP) says the city's surface water bodies have shrunk a lot, from 20.57% of Dhaka's area in 1995 to just 2.9% in 2023, as wetlands, ponds, and canals have been filled in to make way for roads, buildings, and other development.
With fewer natural areas to absorb rainwater, runoff now builds up quickly on roads and in neighborhoods when it rains heavily.
The 26 canals of Dhaka, which cover about 80 kilometres, were supposed to be reclaimed and restored.
However, most work has focused on surface cleaning rather than on removing illegal structures and restoring natural water flow.
Experts from the River and Delta Research Centre (RDRC) say that fixing and reconnecting just 15 main encroached canals could get rid of up to 80% of Dhaka's repeated monsoon waterlogging.
Engineers also point out another ongoing problem under the city's streets that hinders the water flow as stormwater drains and box culverts are often blocked by water pipes, fibre-optic cables, and telecom lines put in by different agencies without enough coordination.
These utilities trap plastic waste, slow water flow, and make the drainage system much less effective during heavy rain.
They say that even after spending over thousands of crores in the last decade, Dhaka is still at risk of the same flooding as before the change in drainage management.
When asked, Chief Engineer of the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), Brigadier General Syed Rakibul Hasan, told Dhaka Tribune that although responsibility for Dhaka's drainage system had been transferred from WASA to the city corporations, DNCC does not yet have control over all drainage infrastructure within its jurisdiction.
"The airport has a separate drainage system, while the drainage system in Bashundhara is also outside our control. As a result, we do not have full operational capacity," he said.
He added that after taking over the drainage system from WASA, DNCC now oversees 29 canals, many of which have been encroached upon or filled up.
He also noted that rainfall of this magnitude had rarely been experienced before.
Chief Engineer of the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), Engineer Noor Azizur Rahman, told Dhaka Tribune that since assuming responsibility from WASA, the corporation has been working to address waterlogging.
"The city has expanded significantly, its population has increased, and many of the canals designated for drainage have been encroached upon or filled up. We are currently moving forward with a master plan to tackle waterlogging," he said.
He added that the city corporation currently has no dedicated department for waterlogging management, but one will be established once it receives approval from the ministry.
