Khulna’s annual ordeal must end

Despite having spent hundreds of crores on a flood mitigation project, one must wonder why the city of Khulna continues to suffer from waterlogging every monsoon. A recent report by this daily shows how overnight rain and intermittent morning showers inundated major roads and neighbourhoods on Wednesday, disrupting daily life for city dwellers. According to the local met office, 30 mm of rainfall was recorded between 7:00 am and 11:00 am, with more intermittent rain forecasted over the coming days. The rain inundated several major parts of the city, as well as homes and shops.

Waterlogged streets pose a serious threat to both human and non-human residents. We may remember the incident in 2023 when four people were electrocuted to death after coming into contact with a live electric wire on a waterlogged street in Dhaka’s Mirpur area. Just this year, a street dog lost his life due to electrocution in a waterlogged field on the Dhaka University campus. The fact that such tragedies continue to unfold every year is both heartbreaking and infuriating. It makes one wonder whether the lives and dignity of our citizens matter so little that no meaningful accountability follows.

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In Khulna, authorities identified 460 encroachers and 382 illegal structures on 26 canals around four years ago, but little has been done so far. The city corporation itself admits that the drains are difficult to maintain because they are covered and require manual cleaning, a problem exacerbated by unregulated waste disposal. What does not add up is the fact that crores of taka have already been poured into a mitigation project aimed at improving the waterlogging situation. For example, more than 200 drains have been built and the Mayur River and seven canals excavated under a Tk 823 crore project, but it has brought little relief, as evident in the latest example.

Even though a city corporation official mentioned having some incomplete infrastructure that is hindering the full operation of the project, we urge the authorities to re-evaluate it and its outcomes. The relevant departments must also stay vigilant to stop the re-encroachment of excavated canals and ensure proper maintenance and monitoring of the city’s drainage systems. As a region on the frontline of the climate crisis, the government must ensure that a comprehensive solution framework exists to tackle urban waterlogging in Khulna. After all, citizens deserve more than costly projects that fail to deliver on a problem that recurs every monsoon.