The latest spell of rainfall, recorded to be 175mm in the capital, has once again exposed the city's inability to cope with a seasonal phenomenon that should have been planned for long ago.
For far too long, heavy monsoon rain in Dhaka has brought with it a familiar consequence: Submerged roads, standstill traffic, and millions of distressed residents.
That this continues despite thousands of crores having been spent on drainage infrastructure raises serious questions -- about planning, implementation, and accountability.
While extreme rainfall is an unavoidable reality in Bangladesh, widespread waterlogging should not be accepted as an inevitable part of urban life. A country that experiences heavy monsoons every year must build its cities with those conditions in mind.
Effective rainwater management should, therefore, be treated as a cornerstone of urban planning rather than an afterthought.
Existing drainage networks must be expanded where necessary and, just as importantly, maintained regularly so that they remain free of waste, sediment, and other obstructions.
Urban planners have repeatedly pointed to encroached canals, disappearing wetlands, rapid unplanned urbanization, and fragmented drainage management as major contributors to Dhaka's chronic flooding, and these underlying issues must be addressed immediately.
Better coordination among the various agencies responsible for infrastructure is equally vital to ensure that drainage systems function as intended.
As climate change continues to intensify extreme weather events, Bangladesh can expect heavier and more unpredictable rainfall in the years ahead. This demands climate-resilient infrastructure, improved forecasting, emergency preparedness, restored natural water retention areas, and long-term investments guided by sound engineering instead of temporary solutions.
The annual phenomenon of a flooded capital is no longer acceptable. Public funds must translate into tangible improvements on the ground.
Our citizens deserve a drainage system capable of withstanding the monsoons it has always known, and the time to build that resilience is now.
