The authorities concerned could not yet determine boundaries of 26 canals inside the city even in one year of taking charge.
It is informed that following completion of Bangladesh Army's responsibility of demarking the boundaries eviction activities will begin in full swing.
Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Atiqul Islam has said, “It was difficult to evict illegal establishments as the canal areas are not properly demarcated. Therefore, the army has been given the responsibility to determine the boundaries of 14 canals under Dhaka North City Corporation areas. When their work is completed, the eviction of the occupants will begin.”
Both city corporations took over the responsibility of the canal on 31 December 2020 and took over the fields in January to evict the illegal occupants. Although 14 months have passed since then, the boundaries of 26 canals located in two city corporation areas have not yet been determined.
However, after taking charge, the two city corporation authorities have started cleaning the canals to evict the illegal structures along the canal and bring back the flow of water.
Experts believe that the canal should be rescued and the water flow should be restored quickly. Otherwise, the suffering will not go away in the coming monsoon.
According to Dhaka North and South City Corporation sources, plans have been taken to rescue those canals and restore their normal water flow.
Mayor Atiqul Islam also said that after taking charge, the work of cleaning the canal has been started to keep the water flow smooth. Boundaries are being demarcating to rescue the canal site.
According to Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) till November last year, more than 79,000 tons of hazardous waste has been removed from the canals under DNCC.
According to the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), the removal of waste from the canals started after taking charge. Among them, more than 1,03,500 tons of waste and 6,79,000 tons of silt have been removed from these canals and box culverts.
Both City Corporations have informed that once their eviction program is successfully done and development work is completed the city will not face any water logging during rainy seasons and city dwellers will experience a different Dhaka.
