The newspaper photos depicting the pitiable conditions of roads and traffic in Dhaka city under the current spell of rain and nor'easters lend credence to the Economist Intelligence Unit's report that the capital of Bangladesh is not liveable. The same way rain brings sorrows to the dwellers of Chittagong port city. Thousands of commuters there find even VIP roads under knee-deep water whenever it rains.
The authorities have thrown to the winds oft-repeated plea of environmental experts to protect at least 40 per cent of drainage areas of Dhaka city as wetlands and water bodies for saving the metropolis from frequent water-logging. Of the 40 per cent, they suggested, a minimum 12 per cent of the drainage areas, equivalent to about 20km, could be made available as reserved ponds or lakes and the remaining 28 per cent (46km) protected as natural wetlands for retention of storm waters.
But, the practice of encroachment, filling of khas lands and wetlands are going on, in violation of the Wetland Conservation Act-2000. Today the plight of Dhaka and Chittagong during rains can be attributed to inadequate drainage facilities and improper operation and maintenance of existing facilities.
The western part of the Dhaka city depends on pump drainage but its eastern part relies on gravity drainage system based on canals and wetlands. Pump water system is not possible in the eastern part as it is energy-dependent and exorbitantly expensive. Given this situation, Dhaka might collapse or its construction areas would be subject to regular inundation unless the existing wetlands and water bodies are protected.
Wetlands and water bodies must be protected considering that these will be the main sources of water in the days to come. Experts fear looming hazards like rising temperature, rise in unexpected rains and deterioration of soil condition as a result of filling wetlands and water bodies.
Prof Sarwar Jahan of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology warns that the areas of wetlands and water bodies in the capital have gradually been shrinking alarmingly. He favours improvement of city planning management system rather than entrusting the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) with protecting Dhaka from the probable wrath of devastation.
The drainage system, which still depends on nature, is being weakened due to residential and commercial activities at both the government and non-government levels, according to environmentalist Syed Rizwana Hossain. More than 10,000 acres of wetlands, enough to make up 146 Ramna Parks, have disappeared owing to illegal earth filling in and around Dhaka city, experts point out. The tendency to encroach on wetlands increased since the government issued the gazette of Detailed Area Planning (DAP) in 2010.
It is now time for the government to take emergency steps to earmark the extremely important areas for reserving as ponds or lakes. People should mount pressure on the authorities to implement judicial orders to save the remaining water bodies in Dhaka city that has already become unliveable, according to the annual Livability Ranking by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
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