It is heartening to note that the government has embarked on a plan to recover canals and waterbodies in Dhaka and re-excavate those to increase their navigability and water reservation capacity.
As reported by this daily on Thursday, Mayors of the two city corporations have already started work to rescue Dhaka’s canals and lakes to bring back their natural water flow and make them suitable for plying of light water vessels.
Dhaka had more than 50 canals and lakes and it was surrounded by four rivers and wetlands just three decades ago. Due to rapid urbanisation coupled with the negligence of urban dwellers, Dhaka has lost almost all of its water bodies over the years. Now, only 26 canals exist in reality in a moribund condition and most of them have lost their water flow.
Necessary steps should be taken so
that new installations could not take
place filling up canals
According to experts, the main reasons behind disappearance of canals are illegal grabbing by influential quarters and dumping of massive quantities of solid waste and garbage from the surrounding neighbourhoods
City authorities must devise necessary action to save the canals and wetlands in the capital from encroachment. It needs no emphasising that water bodies of the capital must be recovered for ensuring natural balance and protecting environment keeping pace with development and urbanisation. We have made mistakes in the way we treated our water-bodies so far. We must not continue to make those mistakes in future.
The city corporations and the WASA need to collaborate and devise a master plan to reclaim the canals. Practice of waste dumping in canals must be stopped in no time. Last but not least, necessary steps should be taken so that new installations could not take place filling up canals.