Dr. Mahtab Hossain Mazed

Almost all the divisional and district cities including the capital Dhaka, the port city of Chittagong are flooded with a little rain during the monsoon season, bringing extreme suffering to the lives of citizens. Most of the canals in Dhaka and other cities have been lost due to lack of commitment of agencies responsible for waterlogging, lack of law enforcement and implementation, lack of accountability, indifference and capture and filling of influential people and lack of public awareness. Those that survive do not have a continuous flow.

The connection with the river is almost cut off. And the city dwellers are suffering the consequences due to waterlogging. An ideal city should have at least 25 percent open area and 15 percent water bodies. However, there is no open area in a densely populated city like the capital. What was there is getting crushed under the bricks and stones day by day. The rate of water loss in 28 years is 72 percent. The same is true for the lower regions. As a result, rainwater drainage is blocked during the monsoon season.

If I go a little deeper into the causes of waterlogging, a few things come up. For example, there is no adequate system of reservoirs, canals, rivers, drains, water drainage and rainwater drainage. Unplanned urbanization has reduced the vacant land in the city. Due to overcrowding, sewage disposal capacity has become inefficient, leaving garbage everywhere without dustbins. As a result, the drainage drains of the neighborhoods were closed. Additional digging in monsoons, resulting in the entire road being washed away with just a little rain.

A war was once declared against polythene bags but no action was taken against it for several years. Due to which its use in raw market, market and shops has increased more than before. Polythenes are reducing the bottom depth of drains, canals and even rivers. The drain is cleaned and the dirt is left next to the drain. In a little rain, that dirt goes down the drain again. Waste is not cleared on time. Many small and big dustbins are provided in the city, but they are not used. Another scourge behind the creation of waterlogging can be said to be the by-products from the buildings under construction. In most cases, raw materials for building are brought and collected on the road. After that, the establishment was taken from there.

> What should we do?

Just blaming the government and the mayor, are we listening to the government or the mayors? Do we follow the law? What laws apply to us? Are the responsible officers performing their duties? Nah! Nobody accepts anything. Just blaming each other. And not only service organizations - every human being has some sense of responsibility as a citizen. We can dispose of the garbage at designated places on our own responsibility. But instead of doing that, we throw it here and there on the road or in the drain. There is no alternative to drainage of the area without drains.

> What is the way to solve waterlogging

If there is a problem, there are ways to solve the problem. There are naturally two ways to solve the problem. One is preventive and the other is remedial. If waste management was improved, the issue of waterlogging would never have been so complicated. Now the problem is so complex that it is not possible to find a solution very easily. But looking at the modern world, there are ways to emulate technological solutions, albeit quite expensive.

Developed countries have been addressing the problem of flooding through preventative measures and proper land and waste management. Many developing countries have also found a way to solve the problem of flooding. Many countries have dug canals through roads and residential areas, and there are also precedents for digging artificial rivers.

But in the case of Bangladesh, the easiest way to solve waterlogging is to increase people's awareness, improve water drainage, and modernize waste management. Many people also think that there is a deficiency in the implementation of the plan to solve the waterlogging of the capital.

Finally, Bangladesh is a rainy area geographically. As a result of excessive rainfall, waterlogging occurs more or less in all small and large cities of the country. Due to the lack of necessary steps including improving the drainage system, every year when it rains heavily, the people of the country have to suffer due to flooding. So to prevent waterlogging.

Capital Dhaka, port city Chittagong and divisional and district cities must be created to solve the waterlogging problem. This problem did not arise in one day. So it cannot be resolved overnight. However, the short and long term steps must be implemented through transparency. Existing canals should be cleared and dug to ensure water flow. Canals, drains should be kept clean. Nowhere should polythene, plastic or garbage be stuck.

Citizens have to play a responsible role. Littering should be avoided everywhere and should be disposed of at specified places. According to the building code, rainwater retention should be arranged in houses, offices, courts, educational institutions. In the first stage it can be made mandatory in case of government installations. Planning should be done now with climate change in mind. Because now it is raining frequently, untimely too. Apart from this, according to the instructions of the High Court, the borders of the rivers of Dhaka should be determined and the illegal structures should be evicted immediately.

Members of Parliament and ward councilors will be responsible for protecting wetlands in their areas. In this case, they will be responsible to the social and professional organizations. Bangladesh will survive only if you are awareTherefore, there is a need to increase public awareness on waterlogging. Because, the garbage left by us is one of the causes of flooding. If we are not careful, this flood will one day put us in dire straits - no doubt about it.

The writer is a organizer, columnist and researcher Founder and Chairman, Jatiya Rogi Kallyan Society