CCC-WDB dispute halts excavation

The Chattogram City Corporation and Water Development Board are currently in a dispute over the demarcation of Kalirchhara canal in the port city's Akbarshah area.

This conflict has brought the ongoing re-excavation work to a complete halt.

The Kalirchhara canal, which stretches 5.5 kilometres from the hilly belt to the Bay of Bengal, once served as a major outlet for stormwater. However, over the past decade, the canal has suffered from significant encroachment.

A digital survey conducted last year by the WDB found 31 illegal structures along the canal's length, many of which are multi-storey buildings that have been constructed by filling up parts of the waterbody. Due to these constructions, the canal, which should be 25 to 30 feet wide according to land records, has narrowed considerably. In some areas, its width has been reduced to just 8 to 10 feet, making it resemble more of a drain than a canal.

The Kalirchhara canal, which stretches 5.5 kilometres from the hilly belt to the Bay of Bengal, once served as a major outlet for stormwater. However, over the past decade, the canal has suffered from significant encroachment.

As a result, the canal has lost its capacity to drain stormwater to the sea, leading to severe waterlogging in nearby neighbourhoods.

The WDB launched a Tk 3.9 crore project to re-excavate 1.5 kilometres of the upstream and downstream areas and to clean approximately 4 kilometres in total. Excavation work began recently at several points but came to a halt when the CCC objected to the boundary lines marked by WDB engineers at the North Lake City Housing segment, said Borna Hoque, sub-divisional engineer of WDB Chattogram.

CCC, however, claimed that the WDB is working beyond its authorised boundary.

Nurul Islam of the CCC estate department said, "After the dispute arose, we measured the canal again using the revisional survey (RS) map and flagged the boundary on December 1. But WDB is trying to excavate beyond these points."

He said CCC had placed red flags to mark their version of the official boundary, which WDB did not accept.

"CCC's new demarcation does not match land office records. We are writing to the deputy commissioner to settle the matter," said Borna Hoque.

Meanwhile, locals have expressed frustration over the ongoing institutional conflict.

Mohammad Shafiqul Islam Khan, a journalist and resident of the area, said, "CCC never worked on this canal. A former ward councillor even filled up portions of it. Now when WDB wants to restore it, CCC is blocking the work."