In a bid to relieve city dwellers from frequent water-logging, the Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) has initiated an eviction drive with the help of the Bangladesh Army against illegal structures alongside the canals of the port city.
On the first day of the eviction drive on Tuesday, as many as 50 illegal structures were taken down along the Domkhali canal in the city.
"A total of 50 illegal establishments along the Domkhali canal were bulldozed. Around 2.5 kilometre land has been reclaimed after the eviction drive on the canal," said CDA Executive Engineer and Project Director Ahmed Moinuddin.
"Around 1,576 illegal structures on 13 canals have already been identified. Initially, 866 structures will be demolished to ensure free water flow, while 710 establishments will be bulldozed to construct roads beside the canals," he said.
CDA Special Magistrate Saiful Alam Chowdhury led the eviction drive.
According to the CDA, the total length of the Domkhali canal is 5.24 km. As many as 115 illegal structures have sprung up along the canal over the years.
As per the survey conducted by the Centre for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS), 123 acres of 13 major canals in the port city have been occupied over the years. More than 1,500 illegal structures have sprung up illegally on the canals that are obstructing the free flow of storm water leading to water-logging.
According to the Chittagong Development Authority (CDA), the illegal structures include concrete buildings, shanties, tin-roofed houses, graveyards and crematoriums.
There are 57 recorded canals in the city, home to six million people.
Around one-third of Chittagong goes under water during the monsoon every year, while the southern part of the coastal city gets flooded during high tides, even without rain.
