Dhaka, as soon as crisscrossed by a community of pure canals that served as drainage and transportation routes, now faces a dire disaster concerning its waterways, because of the rapid urbanisation all the way thru the final century.
Urbanisation has claimed now not lower than 15 of Dhaka’s canals, changing them with field culverts and roads. While authorities directives facilitated these initiatives, the consequences have been excessive.
This loss of pure canals has impacted Dhaka’s drainage machine, exacerbating waterlogging all the way thru the monsoon.
No subject varied plans and initiatives, neither Dhaka North nor Dhaka South city companies have succeeded in restoring the canals’ traditional water waft after virtually four years of management.
A complete bunch of crores of taka have been allocated for dredging and waste removal from town’s 26 closing canals, but development stays sluggish.
Metropolis authorities cite encroachment and inadequate resources as predominant obstacles. Experts, environmentalists, and residents alike lament the sluggish bound of swap and the shortage of political will to address the subject.
Court orders and lack of implementation
In 2017, the High Court ordered authorities to rearrange an motion intention for recovering 50 canals in Dhaka, at the side of experiences on the sizzling enlighten of these canals and a list of unlawful occupants and pollution.
The Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA), which filed the customary writ petition, argued that authorities businesses had did now not protect Dhaka’s canals from encroachment and pollution.
On July 27 this year, BELA Chief Government Syeda Rizwana Hasan, now adviser to the ambiance ministry, instantaneous The Industry Popular, “The reason for now not complying with the High Court orders is the shortage of coordination between the businesses and a mindset internal the authorities that there is a low chance of being held responsible of contempt of court docket if the orders are now not adopted.”
Metropolis experts and environmentalists echo these concerns, noting that while policies and motion plans for restoring Dhaka’s canals exist, factual implementation stays lacking. This failure is obvious in the sluggish bound of canal restoration efforts over the years, despite varied attempts by plenty of city authorities and authorities businesses.
Dhaka Wasa’s struggles with canal management
For a complete lot of years, the accountability for asserting Dhaka’s canals lay with the Dhaka Water Provide and Sewerage Authority (Wasa). Nonetheless, Wasa’s efforts were riddled with delays, fee overruns, and inefficiencies.
Thought to be one of the vital critical examples changed into the Land Acquisition and Re-excavation Challenge, launched in April 2018 with a budget of Tk645.51 crore.
This project aimed to divert rainwater and household water to rivers thru canals to alleviate waterlogging, yet by June 2021, handiest 7% of the project had been carried out despite the expenditure of Tk39.09 crore.
Many of the funds allocated for the project were damaged-down for land surveying and acquisition, with slight development made on canal financial institution vogue or walkway building.
Wasa officials attributed the delays to bureaucratic obstacles, lack of manpower, and inadequate funds.
A second project, the Growth of Dhaka Metropolitan Drainage Community and Canal Style, changed into launched in 2018 with a budget of Tk550.50 crore, aiming to salvage better 16 canals and enhance drainage.
By June 2021, 30% of the project changed into carried out at a fee of Tk136.forty five crore, yet a complete lot of the enhancements were temporary. Canals like a flash reverted to their polluted enlighten because of the the absence of lengthy-timeframe upkeep and dejected enforcement of encroachment prison guidelines.
The canal banks were cleared, and embankments were constructed, but the cleaned canals hasty filled with garbage again, and unlawful constructions were rebuilt.
A Tk20 crore project dedicated to embankment building yielded minimal outcomes, with cramped work being completed on the Ramchandrapur Canal.
Dhaka Wasa’s Deputy Managing Director (O&M) Engr AKM Shahid Uddin cited an absence of manpower and resources because the predominant obstacles.
He acknowledged, “We showed the project development to the extent of the work finished and returned the closing funds to the ministry. Dhaka Wasa did now not have the manpower or funds to preserve up the 26 canals and drains assigned to them.”
BWDB’s a similar challenges
The Bangladesh Water Style Board (BWDB) confronted a similar challenges.
In most modern years, BWDB utilized the “Dhaka-Narayanganj-Demra (DND) Space Drainage System Style Challenge,” with a budget of Tk1,300 crore.
Officially carried out in June 2023, the project concerned the excavation of 14 canals. Nonetheless, despite BWDB’s claims of success, the canals like a flash reverted to their prior stipulations because of the dejected upkeep and lack of oversight, nullifying worthy of the project’s advantages.
Dewan Ainul Haque, superintending engineer of Dhaka Water Style Circle-I in BWDB, infamous that while the bodily work on the project had been carried out, the bureaucracy had now not yet been handed over by the contractors.
“A vital fragment of the project’s budget changed into spent on excavating the canals,” he acknowledged.
But as with Wasa’s efforts, BWDB’s canal excavation work changed into rendered ineffective by dejected upkeep.
Metropolis companies step in: Blended outcomes
In December 2020, town companies of Dhaka formally took over accountability for canal upkeep from Wasa.
Of the 46 canals counted by the two city companies, 29 are in Dhaka North, and 17 waft thru Dhaka South. The two companies have since centered on cleansing and clearing these canals, but development has been sluggish.
Since 2021, Dhaka North has eradicated 3.27 lakh tonnes of waste from its canals and place in CCTV cameras at 24 areas to show screen unlawful dumping.
Town company has also launched into a Tk27 crore project to demarcate canal boundaries and abolish pillars. As of mid-2024, pillars had been erected at 858 areas.
Dhaka North’s former mayor, Md Atiqul Islam, instantaneous The Industry Popular in July, “We purchased jurisdiction, but now we have now not purchased any manpower or funds for upkeep. We are doing as worthy as we are able to with our comprise funds.”
He highlighted that town’s canals had been unnoticed for 50 years, and reclamation efforts confronted right opposition from extremely effective encroachers.
In Dhaka South, town company has launched a Tk900 crore project aimed at restoring four key canals: Jirani, Shyampur, Manda, and Kalunagar.
DSCC announced in August 2023 that it would originate up an eviction power to rob away unlawful constructions from these canals in September.
Dilapidated DSCC mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, earlier in July, expressed frustration at the obstacles posed by land grabbers and encroachers.
“Aggression in the title of authorities initiatives and the indifference of businesses are pushing us into more adversity,” he acknowledged, adding that except this aggression will most definitely be curbed, Dhaka’s waterlogging inform would continue.
For the reason that tumble of the Hasina regime on 5 August, the two city companies have operated without mayors.
This week, Dhaka North’s recent administrator, Md Mahmudul Hasan, described rescuing the canals as actually one of the toughest jobs in Bangladesh, noting, “Now we have began eliminating plastic and other waste, but freeing the canals from encroachments will rob time.”
Concerning the eviction of unlawful constructions, he acknowledged, “A recent eviction power is anxious for the time being. The police force disaster and the socio-economic situation must be intention of. We are reviewing unlawful installations and figuring out areas, hoping to originate up the campaign as soon as the nation stabilises.”
Dhaka South Metropolis Corporation Chief Government Officer Md Mizanur Rahman acknowledged, “Mayor Taposh had drafted his comprise canal vogue intention. Below the recent administration, we are able to proceed with demarcation as per a up to date intention.”
He added, “Casting off waste and evicting unlawful constructions would now not preserve canals orderly for even 15 days. The canals are like a flash reoccupied and polluted again. We’re going to desire on measures to create clear sustainable development, and expectantly, there will seemingly be lasting adjustments in the canals.”
Impact of urbanisation on Dhaka’s canals
The roots of Dhaka’s canal loss will most definitely be traced wait on to town’s unplanned urbanisation.
In accordance with a 2017 admire by the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), town’s predominant vogue authority, now not lower than 72,000 unlawful constructions exist in flood-waft zones at some stage in the capital.
The quantity has handiest elevated since then. A form of these constructions have been built alongside, or directly over, Dhaka’s canals, choking the waterways and rendering them incapable of performing their customary impartial.
The canals that as soon as equipped drainage and helped modify Dhaka’s floodwaters have either been stuffed in or diverted into concrete culverts, main to a pointy decline in town’s water management capabilities.
Town, which might perhaps maybe mute be ready to absorb and redirect rainwater, as a replace experiences power waterlogging.
Moreover, the environmental affect of canal loss is felt thru degraded ecosystems and rising pollution ranges in what stays of the waterways.
Expert opinions on canal restoration
Metropolis planners and environmental experts are now not optimistic relating to town companies’ capacity to kind out the canal arena without a conventional shift in approach.
Alamgir Kabir, overall secretary of the Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon, criticised the restoration efforts, calling them superficial and aimed at embezzling project funds.
Kabir infamous that Dhaka’s canal community, if properly restored, might perhaps maybe alleviate town’s traffic congestion by providing different transportation routes. “No other city globally possesses a canal community devour Dhaka’s. But these canals are unnoticed.”
Professor Akter Mahmud from Jahangirnagar College’s Metropolis and Regional Planning Division underscored that unlawful occupants must be evicted to revive the canals’ waft.
“Without this, constructing Dhaka’s drainage machine is now not doubtless, and town’s environmental degradation will continue.”
Professor Mahmud, a former president of the Bangladesh Institute of Planners, advocated for the building of walkways and cycle lanes alongside the canals to discourage extra encroachment.
Syeda Rizwana Hasan careworn out the need for the advent of a grasp intention to protect the canals. This intention, she acknowledged, might perhaps maybe mute consist of clear boundaries, a database of canal records, and guidelines to cease future encroachments.
