It will not be long before monsoon arrives in Chattogram, and depending on how prepared the city authorities are, one of two things will happen: it will either see its clogged canals and drains overflow and suck in unsuspecting pedestrians, or with proper safeguards in place, such incidents can hopefully be averted. Over the years, the port city has earned quite a bit of notoriety for its poor drainage system—leading to not just waterlogging on the streets, but also drain-related tragedies. As per an estimate, since 2017, at least eight lives have been claimed by uncovered drains. Many have remained missing after falling into open drains, never to be found again.

The question is: how prepared are the authorities this time? According to a report by this daily, many drains and canals are still to be made safe despite the monsoon season being just two months or so away. Our correspondent visited some of the sites of past accidents and casualties and found them to be unprotected. The Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) claims to have covered almost 80 percent of the unsafe spots near drains with slabs, and built 70 percent of the necessary retaining walls along risky canals. But why not all? The Chattogram Development Authority (CDA) has a long-running megaproject to mitigate waterlogging, but its progress—especially with regard to recovering and dredging canals—too has been most unsatisfactory.

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No Country for Old Trees

How many pedestrians must die, disappear or risk injuries before these organisations start doing their job properly? The city has about 57 canals stretching across 161km alongside 765km of drains. A 2021 survey identified 5,527 dangerous spots connected to these canals and drains. Securing them all with proper fencing and covering, and ensuring that the canals and drains are not clogged or overflowing, shouldn't have been difficult given the massive investment made so far. That it has not happened yet shows how lacklustre the authorities' approach has been in this regard. We, therefore, urge the CCC and the CDA to ensure better coordination among themselves and properly secure all drains in the city, so that no one falls into them.