It has been decided to remove all the dams in the canal by June 30 to reduce the suffering of the people till the completion of the ongoing mega project of CDA to alleviate waterlogging.
The decision was announced at a coordination meeting of all service organizations to alleviate waterlogging in the conference room of Chattogram City Corporation's (CCC) Tiger Pass temporary office on Monday afternoon.
CCC Mayor Md. Rezaul Karim Chowdhury presided over the function. Chattogram Development Authority (CDA) Chairman M Zahirul Alam Dobhas, Additional Divisional Commissioner (Development) Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, CCC Chief Executive Officer Kazi Mohammad Mozammel Haque, Environment Department Director Mohammad Nurullah Nuri, CCC Secretary Khaled Mahmud, CCC Chief Engineer Rafiqul Islam, Private Secretary to Mayor Muhammad Abul Hashem, Chattogram Port Authority Chief Engineer Mahmudul Hossain Khan, CMP Deputy Commissioner of Police SM Mostain Hossain, 34 Engineers Brigade Project Officer Major Pankaj Mallick, CDA Chief Engineer Kazi Hasan Bin Shams , Bangladesh Water Development Board Supervising Engineer Shibendu Khastgir spoke on the occasion.
The mayor said the ongoing waterlogging in the city is expected to be relieved once the mega project is completed. Work on the project is already 50 percent complete. There are still temporary dams in the canal.
The CDA is working on that. However, in order not to increase the suffering of the citizens in this rainy season, the well thoughtout opinion of all the organizations is needed.
All organizations must make decisions based on feedback and implement them. Or the money for the mega project allocated by the Prime Minister will be a waste, which is not desirable.
The mayor blamed the Karnafuli river for not dredging and throwing polythene in the river canal.
He also announced the launch of a campaign initiated by the CCC to stop the production of polythene. The mayor voted in favor of digging new canals as per the RS and CS sheets as well as taking initiatives to recover the lost and occupied canals.
He asked officials of the ongoing mega project to seek the views of local councilors and work with them.
CDA Chairman M Zahirul Alam Dobhas said, "We want all service agencies to work together." Blaming each other won't work. The dam that was given for work in the canal will be removed by the 30th of this month.
He said he would tell the army about it.
Additional Divisional Commissioner (Development) Mohammad Mizanur Rahman said that if the opinion of the corporation was not sought in taking the plan of the 2016 master plan, he urged to take it now. Otherwise, there is a risk that the mega project of waterlogging will not be successfully implemented.
Major Pankaj Mallick said that despite being called a mega project in the media many times, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) worth Tk 3,840 crore has been signed between the CDA and the Army for the Army Engineering Brigade waterlogging project. Of this, we have received Tk 1,672 crore. Of the 36 canals we have worked on half the canals. Work on the remaining half of the canal is still pending. Drain work is only 26 kilometers. So it would be wrong to expect more now.
CCC Chief Engineer Rafiqul Islam said the city was experiencing waterlogging as the 2016 Drainage Master Plan was not implemented.
He presented the work of the drain and the possible plan to eliminate the water blockage done by the corporation. The corporation has completed work worth Tk 1,674 crore. Besides, the Water Development Board has done work worth Tk 1,620 crore.
The city has 13 canals connected to the sea and 10 canals connected to the Karnafuli river. The chief engineer of the corporation proposed to dig the canal as well as build a 20-foot road on both sides of the canal so, that the soil of the canal can be easily removed after digging the canal. He also proposed the creation of new roads in the city.
CDA Chief Engineer Kazi Hassan bin Shams proposed to recruit CCC trained manpower for maintenance of switch gates under construction to alleviate waterlogging. He also mentioned that the advice of the Water Development Board can be taken in this.
Engineer ShivenduKhastgir said, "We have yet to get Tk 40 crore out of Tk 60 crore for the construction of the switch gate." After the construction of the switch gate, since the responsibility of maintenance lies with the CCC. So we can give all kinds of advice and cooperation. A tripartite committee can be formed in this regard at the initiative of CDA, City Corporation and Water Development Board.
All the service organizations agreed to evict the illegal establishments and acquire the land without any hindrance at this meeting.
