Unprotected drains, canals in Ctg: What authorities really doing about it?

• Ctg City Corporation survey finds 19km of canal banks lacking guard rails
• The survey also identified 5,527 locations with open drains
• Over two years since the survey, no safety measures have been implemented
• Four waterlogging projects totaling Tk14,389 crore are underway, but none addresses safety railings

Seven-year-old Saidul Islam was playing near his house in Billa Para area of Chattogram city on Saturday evening when he went missing. On Sunday, police recovered his body from Nasir Canal about 200 metres away from where he was last seen.

Authorities suspect that Saidul fell into an open drain where the slabs had been removed due to a drainage project undertaken by the Chattogram Development Authority.

"The area is not open to the public. We were investigating hairline cracks on the slabs, hence they were set aside," Lt Col Ferdous Ahmed, project director of the waterlogging project, told TBS.

He claimed that since the child's body was found some distance from the uncovered drains, it is unlikely he fell through there.

Saidul is one of 11 victims who have in recent times fallen into open drains or canals, which lack guardrails, in the city.

Just days earlier, on 27 May, Azizul Hakim Emon died after falling into the Kalabagicha Canal in Asadganj Shutkipalli.

Despite these incidents, the city corporation and development authority continue to avoid taking responsibility for the deaths, instead engaging in a blame game.

For instance, three years ago, a CNG auto-rickshaw fell into the Chashma Canal in Chattogram's Mayor Goli area during a rainy day, killing the driver and a passenger.

Despite such mishaps, no safety railings have been installed. Local residents, including children and the elderly, regularly use the road on the canal's bank, increasing safety concerns.

Robinul Haque Tuhin, a local resident, said, "Children ride bicycles and play on the road beside the canal. Pedestrians use the road alongside vehicles. There is a lot of current in the canal during the rainy season. If anyone falls in, he will be swept away by the current within minutes."

Like the Chashma Canal, most areas of Chattogram city lack safety railings along canals and drains, turning them into death traps during the monsoon season.

A survey conducted by Chattogram City Corporation in October 2021 found the city has 1,137 kilometres of canals and drains, with safety railings missing along about 19 kilometres. There are also open drains in 5,527 locations.

Although two years and three-quarters have passed since the list was made, proper security measures have yet to be taken.

The Hijra Canal flows through the Katalganj residential area of Chawkbazar, which remains unprotected. During the rainy season, water rises to waist-deep, making it impossible to distinguish between the canal and the road.

Dredging work is underway on the Chaktai Canal in the Jangishah area of Badurtola, but no safety railings are present.

Similar conditions exist in the Shaheednagar area, where a pile of garbage has accumulated on the Chaktai Canal along Shanti Nagar road in Bakalia. Children and the elderly walk by this unprotected canal in the densely populated area.

Despite the death of a child in Agrabad Rangipara last year during the monsoon season, the canal there remains unprotected.

There are unguarded canals and open drains in densely populated areas, such as Muradpur, Bahaddarhat, Shulokbahar, Mehdibagh, Chatteshwari Mor, Chawkbazar, Gate no 2, Munsi Pukurpar, Rahman Nagar, Mayor Goli, Nasirabad, and Alfalah Goli.

The canals on both sides of CDA Avenue from Bahaddarhat Mor to Sholoshahar are also open, with shops and businesses installing shaky slabs on their own initiative.

"The slab of the cross drain in the middle of the road at Mayor Goli in Basundhara broke a month ago. The road gets waterlogged as soon as it rains, making it difficult to differentiate between the drain and the road. During the rains caused by Cyclone Remal, several rickshaws collapsed into the drain. The city corporation has not replaced the slab even after a month," said Jahidul Alam Tuhin, a resident of the Basundhara residential area in Halisahar, to TBS.

Locals are worried about more accidents occurring during the current monsoon season due to the lack of protection on the banks of open canals and drains.

Safety railings not considered in project plans  

Although a list of hazardous canals and drains within the city was compiled and the installation of safety railings was planned, neither the city corporation nor the development authority has yet completed this task.

The development authority is implementing drainage projects in 36 out of the city's 57 canals to address waterlogging. They argue that the issue of safety railings was not included in the drainage project.

Meanwhile, the city corporation claimed it is providing safety railings in canals and drains not covered by the development authority's project.

However, an official at the city corporation's conservancy department, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed that safety railings have not been installed in even 10% of the risky areas.

Three agencies are implementing four projects to address waterlogging in Chattogram city, at a total cost of Tk14,389 crore. However, none of these projects include provisions for safety railings.

The CDA is implementing two projects: the Tk8,626.62 crore "Excavation, Expansion, Renovation and Development of Canals for Waterlogging Control in Chattogram City" megaproject and the Tk2,779.39 crore "Construction of Road from Kalurghat Bridge to Chaktai Canal along the Karnaphuli River Bank" project.

The CCC is implementing the Tk1,362.62 crore "Excavation of Canal from Baroipara to Karnaphuli River in the City" project.

The Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) is implementing the Tk1,620 crore "Chattogram Metropolitan Flood Control, Waterlogging and Drainage Improvement" project.

Lt Col Ferdous Ahmed, project director of the development authority's waterlogging project, told TBS, "The project design does not mention safety railings. Once the canal work is completed, retaining walls are constructed. The project is being implemented on the 2018 schedule, and prices have increased since then. It is not possible to provide for additional expenses in the project."

"However, due to social responsibility, safety railings are being provided in accident-prone areas. We are trying to provide railings in areas at risk of landslides, such as Shitaljharna and Chashma Canal, as well as densely populated areas like Chaktai, Mirza, Birja, and Maheshkhal. While railings have not yet been provided, there are plans for the future," he added.

Mohammod Yunus, the recently appointed Chairman of the Chattogram Development Authority, said, "Let's not talk about the past. Since taking office, I have been coordinating with all the agencies. There has been a discussion about risky canals, and we will work in coordination with the city corporation."

The city corporation's chief engineer (in-charge), Mohammed Shahin-ul-Islam said, "Instructions have been given to the respective zones of the Engineering and Conservancy Departments to prepare a list of risky places in the canals and drains. We will have the list in hand within a couple of days. The work of providing safety railings will start, even if it is on a temporary basis."​​