Bamboo fences, that's all the Chattogram City Corporation could come up with as a temporary solution to the problem of unguarded canals this monsoon, as projects worth crores of taka continue to linger on.

 At least 11 people have died and many others were injured after falling into the city's drains and canals since 2017.

The city has a total of 57 canals stretching 161 kilometres, of which 36 are now under a mega project by the Chattogram Development Authority to address the city's waterlogging woes.

Besides, there are a total of 765-km of drains in the city.

According to CCC officials, they have nothing much to do with the canals under the CDA's project.

However, the CCC has recently identified at least 100 vulnerable spots in the remaining 21 canals that are not under the CDA's project.

The list of the spots has been submitted to the CCC's engineering department, said Farhadul Alam, executive engineer of CCC.

In total, the city has a total of 5,527 risky spots in its drains, canals and footpaths, according to a 2021 CCC survey.

"Protecting all the open canals and drains with concrete walls is time consuming, so we will mark the risky spots with bamboo sticks to make people stay cautious," said CCC chief engineer (acting) Shahin-ul-Islam Chowdhury.

Unsurprisingly, residents and experts are less than impressed. 

"Marking the vulnerable spots with bamboo sticks is not a proper solution to save lives from unprotected canals and drains during waterlogging," said Subhash Barua, vice-president of Planned Chattogram, a forum of town planners.

"CCC authorities must be accountable for their failure to secure the unprotected drains and canals over the years," he added.