Chittagong City Corporation seeks 100 crore allocation for cleaning canals and drains.
The city has over 1,400 km of secondary and tertiary drains and canals that are not part of the ongoing mega project to de-water. To save the city dwellers from the suffering of waterlogging, it is necessary to clean these drains and canals and keep the water flow normal.
Since the canals are not part of the CDA’s mega project, the responsibility of cleaning them lies with the Chittagong City Corporation (CCC). According to the corporation, it will cost Tk 100 crore to remove soil and waste from these drains and canals before the monsoon. But the debt-ridden CCC does not have the financial capacity to spend this money. Therefore, the CCC has sought allocation of funds from the Local Government Department.
In this regard, City Mayor Dr. Shahadat Hossain told Azadi, there are many more canals outside the 36 canals included in the mega project. If we can clean these canals repeatedly, then we can save the people from the suffering of waterlogging. But the corporation does not have the financial capacity to bear this cost. When I took charge, the corporation had a debt of more than Tk 411 crore. There is no scope to work with a one-time allocation. Still, we are not sitting quietly to save the people from the suffering of waterlogging in the upcoming monsoon. We have undertaken a canal excavation program. We are working on the Mahesh Canal. We have also cleaned the agricultural canal. The canal cleaning work will continue in the future.
He said that some action plans have also been determined in the meeting held at the Circuit House within the next four months. Moreover, money is needed to keep the canals clean and the water flow normal. Therefore, we have written a letter to the Local Government Department seeking an allocation of Tk 100 crore. We hope that the desired amount will be allocated to save the people of Chittagong from the suffering of waterlogging.
Meanwhile, the letter written to the Local Government Ministry seeking allocation of money has said that excluding the canals under the projects implemented by the CDA, the remaining 1,400 kilometers of various secondary and tertiary drains and canals need to be cleaned to alleviate waterlogging. If soil and waste are removed from these drains and uninterrupted water flow is ensured, the potential waterlogging level during the upcoming monsoon will be greatly reduced. The cleaning process is very complex and requires various types of vehicles and equipment. Therefore, an allocation of about Tk 100 crore is required to complete the process smoothly. At present, the Chittagong City Corporation does not have the financial capacity to spend so much money at once and there is also a shortage of various types of vehicles and equipment.
The letter has requested the Chittagong City Corporation to provide an initial allocation of Tk 100 crore on an urgent basis for the purpose of removing soil and waste from various types of drains in the city during the dry season to alleviate the suffering of the city dwellers.
The same letter, signed by the Chief Executive Officer of the City Council, Sheikh Muhammad Towhidul Islam, said that despite ongoing projects to alleviate waterlogging in Chittagong city, including widening canals and drains, construction of retaining walls and installation of sluice gates, the people of Chittagong were stuck in waterlogging during the last monsoon season. Mainly due to heavy rainfall and the accumulation of large amounts of waste and soil in canals and drains, the flow of water was obstructed, which led to severe waterlogging in the city on several occasions.
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