At first glance, the Kutubkhali canal resembles a garbage-filled drain. The water is pitch black. The scene will make you want to avert your gaze.

And if you dare get closer, the stench will force you to pinch your nose shut.

In complete contrast to the prevailing atmosphere, there is a walkway and benches have been placed around the canal, like you would find inside well-maintained parks or around lakes. But here, the stench doesn't allow anyone to enjoy the facilities.

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This is the dire state of Kutubkhali canal in wards 51 and 52 of the capital's Jatrabari, under the supervision of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC).

The width of the canal is now decreasing due to the dumping of excessive garbage, this correspondent observed during a recent visit.

An overabundance of polythene bags, solid waste, empty containers, rotten food and so on, can be seen floating on the water.

Negligence on many fronts is to blame for this state: sewage lines for residences have been discharging waste into the canal along with regular dumping of household garbage. Liquid waste from markets nearby is also released into the canal.

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"DSCC's cleaners remain absent for two to three days a week, and they too end up dumping garbage in the canal like everyone else," Altaf Hossain, a resident of the area, told The Daily Star.

Didar Hossain, another resident, said, "The canal seems dead. I am shocked to see the colour gradually getting darker and darker, following the dumping of garbage."

The canal has also become a habitat for mosquitoes to breed in.

"After 6:00pm, every resident is forced to close their doors to keep out mosquitoes despite fumigation done by the corporation once a week," Abdus Salam, a resident of Jatrabari area, told The Daily Star.

"Around six months ago, the canal was clean but it is being turned into a waste dumping ground now," he added.

Residents claimed there are no waste receptacles in the area and there are no signboards along the canal prohibiting people from throwing waste into it.

According to the DSCC, despite spending Tk 1.59 crore in 2021 on the installation of a one-metre fence, five benches, and 14 streetlights to prevent dumping, the 900-metre-long canal remains critically polluted.

DSCC has failed miserably in preventing the ongoing pollution of the canal, locals said.

Despite their previous funding to save the canal, the DSCC has turned a blind eye to the current situation.

Contacted, Najma Begum, councillor of reserved seat-15 (Ward 48, 50, 51), blamed residents for the canal's condition.

"Despite DSCC's monthly cleanings, there has been little improvement," she said.

Rejecting the residents' allegation that waste bins don't exist in the area, Begum told The Daily Star, "DSCC has taken initiatives and will soon provide some dustbins near the canal."

But Sharif Jamil, general secretary of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon, offered a completely different perspective.

"It is DSCC's poor planning that has resulted in the loss of public funds," he told The Daily Star.

"The people have not been involved in the DSCC's efforts to protect the canal," said Jamil. He urged the corporation to take action and increase public awareness campaigns in this regard.