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Editorial

A day’s rainfall inundates Dhaka

Drainage system must be improved


Bangladeshpost
Published : 22 Jul 2020 07:21 PM | Updated : 07 Sep 2020 09:57 AM

After just two days of monsoon rainfall, several areas in Dhaka went under knee-to-waist-deep water. Residents suffer badly every year during the monsoon as many parts of the city become waterlogged. This has once again brought into question the problems of the city's drainage system.

Experts opine that the solution lies in an integrated master plan and coordinated work of various authorities concerned. Water retention bodies, including ponds and canals, cover 12 per cent areas of a planned city, whereas in Dhaka it is less than two per cent. In order to solve this issue, grabbed canals should be reclaimed and area-based retention ponds have to be built to take the edge off the city's water-logging problem.

A report in this daily stated that slow progress of drainage construction work is one of the main barriers to a sustainable solution of the city’s waterlogging problem. Construction and renovation of some big drainage projects in Dhaka that started in October last year have not been completed up until now. 


Collective effort from authorities 

and citizens is needed to rid the

 city of its waterlogging problem.



The report further stated that Dhaka’s water-drainage system is only capable of dealing with 20mm of rainfall where in most of the areas the rainfall often exceeds 40mm. The city authorities must work quickly to expand the capacity of the city’s drainage system. Special emphasis must be placed to free the canals from illegal encroachments where necessary.

On top of that, most of the drains in the city remain clogged with dirt and debris due to widespread littering. Therefore to deal with the problem of waterlogging, citizens must also be conscious of their behavior and dispose of waste properly. Collective effort from authorities and citizens is needed to rid the city of its waterlogging problem.