File Photo: People trying to cross a waterlogged street near Dhanmondi area in Dhaka Syed Zakir Hossain/Dhaka Tribune
Tribune Editorials
Publish : 17 Nov 2021, 12:25 AMUpdate : 17 Nov 2021, 12:25 AM
While there are many reasons that continue to sustain this problem, a lack of funding is apparently not one of them, as a recent Dhaka Tribune report clearly showed.
The authorities are constantly launching new projects without properly investigating why the older projects failed. As experts pointed out, the spending of hundreds of crores for building new drainage pipes has been a futile exercise because the main drainage line remains clogged, which is the case line going into the Katasur canal.
It’s also unfortunate that jurisdiction-related complicacy does not seem to get resolved for Dhaka’s administrative bodies, resulting in further roadblocks in the way of effective action. Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), for example, carried out cleaning for the pipeline connecting Satmasjid road and the mainline leading to the canal, but the part of the drain within the administrative area of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) remained clogged due to a lack of coordination between the two city corporations. Not only is this disheartening, but such lack of cooperation is commonplace, yet must be rectified if we are to start making progress on these fronts.
Experts have repeatedly pointed out that proper maintenance is cheaper and will likely provide better results than building new pipelines. Yet, the two city corporations spent Tk294 crore in the 2019-20 fiscal year to improve the drainage network but failed to achieve success.
While the budget kept increasing, the number of areas prone to waterlogging also increased -- from fewer than 25 in 2018 to 48 currently -- clearly demonstrating that initiatives by the city corporations were not working. It is high time that there be some accountability for failing to do their jobs repeatedly.
Waterlogging doesn’t only cause a disruption of daily activities for city dwellers, but it causes immense suffering as well as poses a serious threat to public health and safety. The authorities must stop throwing money at the problem and actually take responsibility for solving it.
ED: Money down the drain
While there are many reasons that continue to sustain this problem, a lack of funding is apparently not one of them, as a recent Dhaka Tribune report clearly showed.
The authorities are constantly launching new projects without properly investigating why the older projects failed. As experts pointed out, the spending of hundreds of crores for building new drainage pipes has been a futile exercise because the main drainage line remains clogged, which is the case line going into the Katasur canal.
It’s also unfortunate that jurisdiction-related complicacy does not seem to get resolved for Dhaka’s administrative bodies, resulting in further roadblocks in the way of effective action. Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), for example, carried out cleaning for the pipeline connecting Satmasjid road and the mainline leading to the canal, but the part of the drain within the administrative area of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) remained clogged due to a lack of coordination between the two city corporations. Not only is this disheartening, but such lack of cooperation is commonplace, yet must be rectified if we are to start making progress on these fronts.
Experts have repeatedly pointed out that proper maintenance is cheaper and will likely provide better results than building new pipelines. Yet, the two city corporations spent Tk294 crore in the 2019-20 fiscal year to improve the drainage network but failed to achieve success.
While the budget kept increasing, the number of areas prone to waterlogging also increased -- from fewer than 25 in 2018 to 48 currently -- clearly demonstrating that initiatives by the city corporations were not working. It is high time that there be some accountability for failing to do their jobs repeatedly.
Waterlogging doesn’t only cause a disruption of daily activities for city dwellers, but it causes immense suffering as well as poses a serious threat to public health and safety. The authorities must stop throwing money at the problem and actually take responsibility for solving it.
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