Vanishing water bodies
Photo: DHAKADAILYPHOTO.BLOGSPOT
When we came here to Houston, I was baffled to see the football ground like fields about approximately 10 - 15 feet below the ground level. I could not figure out what those were meant for. Then I asked my host resident, who had been in Houston for almost four decades, what those were. He replied, "Water Retention Bodies." I could hardly understand what he meant. It is now the middle of winter and I am amazed to experience such a weird pattern of weather in this part of the world. We are familiar with rain during monsoon in Bangladesh but it is raining in torrents in the thick of winter in Houston. It rained all night long and when we got up in the morning, we found ourselves on an island in the middle of a lagoon. But in no time, all the rain water disappeared. I exclaimed, Oh my goodness, what has happened to all the water? Then while taking our daughter to school, I found that the lowly football fields turned into big ponds. Now I realise the meaning of water retention bodies. Of course those were also there in Dhaka three or four have decades ago. The memories of those water retention bodies have perhaps become obscure from the minds of those fortunate few who are still living. Majority of the city dwellers perhaps do not know that the Basundhara Shopping Mall stands on a big water retention body. Most of the city dwellers must also have forgotten that there used to be a big pond perhaps between road no. 5 and 6 of Dhanmondi by the side of Green Road, where now stands staff quarters meant for the government employees. Does the government, or for that matter, any real estate developer ever wonder while planning to construct a building, what will happen to the rain water which is very essential for the survival of all living beings. Isn't the ground water level receding fast? The government has been struggling to construct the Hatirjheel project for ages and it has not been implemented yet. I wonder whether this project will ever turn into a reality or some mega building project takes its place in the near future.
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