It appears that the light to moderate rainfall witnessed in the past few days was enough to completely bring parts of our capital city to their knees, as we once again find ourselves asking the same question: Why is water-logging such a persistent problem for Dhaka?
According to a recent Dhaka Tribune report, citing various sources, when it rains, the water in the capital flows into the surrounding rivers through three channels: A pump station, sluice gates, and canals. Most of the sluice gates under Dhaka South City Corporation are, however, non-functional while the canals are not ideal for water flow.
While waste disposal and non-functional sluice gates are all parts of the more specific factors which lead to water-logging, at a macro level it appears that the fragmented nature of the responsibilities shared by our two city corporations means a lack of any holistic approach in tackling this problem.
It’s abundantly clear that the city councils need to ramp up efforts on this front -- we have been given promises of fixing the drainage system numerous times, but the problems are only getting worse. Closely related to the problem of drainage is rampant littering and plastic pollution, as rubbish frequently clogs up the drainage and exacerbates the water-logging problem even more.
While initiatives such as the Dhaka North City Corporation’s quick response team, to address waterlogging issues, can help in the short term, progress when it comes to projects such as the Hydro Ecopark at the Kalyanpur Retention Pond need to be expedited for more long-term solutions to this incredibly incessant issue.
It is understandable that Dhaka’s water-logging issues cannot be whisked away just like that, but given the lack of any apparent progress regarding this issue questions about our city corporations’ commitment towards ending water-logging are still valid.
Not having to wade waste-deep water just to carry out our everyday tasks is not a big ask for citizens.
