Project taken to mitigate port city's waterlogging

Aiming to mitigate the waterlogging crisis in Chittagong city, Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) has taken up a project involving around Tk 3,165.18 crore.

Other objectives of the project include making the city free of flood, improving the city's drainage system and preventing saline water intrusion.

Officials of BWDB hoped that city dwellers will get rid of the waterlogging problem once the project titled “Flood control, drainage improvement and waterlogging mitigation of Chittagong city” is implemented.

The implementation period of the proposed project is supposed to be in between April, 2017 and June, 2021, said BWDB sources.

Under the project, regulators in 40 canals of the city and about 2.7km of retaining wall will be constructed, said BWDB officials.

Apart from these, 27.497km of flood wall with 1km slope protection will be constructed and 100 pumps with generator facilities will be installed in 10 big canals including Chaktai, Moheshkhal and Rajakhali, they added. 

Dredging or re-excavation works of about 250km of the canals will also be done under the project, they further said.

In this regard, a Development Project Proposal (DPP) has been sent to the BWDB head office in January and it is now at the planning commission, said Bidyut Kumar Saha, executive engineer of BWDB, Chittagong-1.

The dredging and re-excavation works of canals will be implemented by the Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) while BWDB will do the remaining works of the project, he said.

The project has been taken by the initiatives of the water resources minister and CCC mayor, commented AKM Shamsul Karim, chief engineer of BWDB, Chittagong.