Govt to form committee for reclaiming canals in Dhaka

The local government ministry at a meeting yesterday decided to form a committee to reclaim Dhaka city's canals, which have either been illegally grabbed or clogged with solid wastes, to help resolve water congestion in the capital.

Abdul Malek, secretary to Local Government Division, said the committee would be formed in a week with representatives of two city corporations, Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa), Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakhkha (Rajuk), and the deputy commissioner of Dhaka.

Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Annisul Huq raised the issue to address recurrent waterlogging which creates untold miseries for the city dwellers each time even in normal monsoon rains.

Of a total of 43 canals in Dhaka, only 26 are in the  custody of Wasa while the rest either have been illegally grabbed or turned into roads, said Dhaka Wasa Managing Director Taqsem A Khan.

Besides, most of the canals maintained by Wasa remain clogged with solid wastes, as uncollected city wastes finally land in there and also people residing along the canals dump wastes into them due to a lack of awareness, he added.

Therefore, a local-level public awareness programme led by ward councillors is needed, the meeting said.

A designated drainage authority is also required, suggested Taqsem.

Engineer Khandker Mosharraf Hossain, minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Co-Operatives, chaired the meeting also attended by other high officials.