CCC hard at work ahead of monsoon

Dredging and cleaning works of canals and drains of Chittagong city is going on in full swing with an aim to mitigate the city's water-logging problem in the upcoming monsoon.

To increase the water retention capacity of theses canals and drains so that water does not remain stagnant, Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) has begun the works since the middle of February this year, said CCC sources, adding that and the authority has set the time frame to complete the task by April.

Last year, CCC spent about Tk 6.30 crore to mitigate the water-logging problem. But this year the project has been estimated at about Tk 16.93 crore, in order to lessen the sufferings due to water-logging, according to CCC sources.

There are 34 canals in the city and the total lengths of the canals are about 144km while the total lengths of the city's drains are about 480km, they added.

About 160 contractors have been doing the works, said a senior engineer of CCC, seeking anonymity. The mayor himself is overseeing the works, he further added.

The city dwellers should be conscious as residents residing beside the canals often dump garbage and fill the canals up, he said.

SM Nazimul Huq, a contractor who got the job of cleaning and lifting earth of a portion of Chaktai Khal (canal) from Khejurtoli to Loharbridge area, said that they are working hard to complete the task.

"Hopefully the works will be completed within the deadline," said Kazi Mohammad Shafiul Alam, CCC chief executive officer.

Apart from doing such kinds of job, the authority should monitor the condition of these canals and drains regularly," said Abdullah Al Mamun, a resident of Chawk Bazar area.

"If such works could not be done, the sufferings of the people would be acute," commented Eng Delwar Hossain Majumder, president of Sachetan Nagorik Committee, Chittagong.

But to get rid of water-logging, a major initiative has to be taken involving the government and other concerned departments, he opined.

At a meeting with the contractors held at the KB Abdus Chhattar auditorium of CCC on March 7, Mayor AJM Nasir Uddin urged them to complete the works within the stipulated time and warned them of taking punitive actions upon failure to meet the deadline.