Dhaka facing severe water problems

Dhaka: Dhaka which is known for water-logging and drainage congestion has lost its past glory of natural khals and wetlands full of fresh water.
The capital’s water resources are threatened by both human activity as well as natural causes, said a report in Dhaka tribune. Climate change is affecting the city, in particular, in three ways: Increased frequency of floods, drainage congestion, and heat stress.
Because of its geographic location, Dhaka suffers from river floods annually. The city also suffers from frequent storm water flooding. The illegal encroachment of rivers, water bodies, lands filling, and indiscriminate dumping of domestic and industrial waste into rivers and canals are accelerating the drainage congestion. As a result, Dhaka faces severe storm water flooding during heavy rainfall. The city corporations and the institutions empowered with various planning and management responsibilities have been nothing but feeble in taking appropriate approaches to tackle these issues.
The local surface water hydrology around Dhaka is complex — the Dhaleswari River, a tributary of the Jamuna River, flows by the south-eastern part of the North Central Region of Bangladesh, close to the confluence of the Padma River and Upper Meghna River.
The Lakhya River joins Dhaleswari at 11km downstream of the Buriganga confluence. About 5km below the Dhaleswari-Lakhya con?uence, the Dhaleswari meets the Meghna River, which in turn flows into the Padma River, a further 20km downstream. All of this results with the city’s drainage system being under the influence of backwater effects from surrounding rivers.
The city has been experiencing a gradual increase in water-logging over the last decade, of course. Moderate-to-heavy rain causes serious drainage problems in many parts of the.
The process of rapid urbanization is not focusing enough on adequate drainage facilities, which causes water-logging and temporary inundation in parts of Dhaka for several days during monsoon. This has brought the reality that, during the monsoon, the city’s drainage depends very much on the water levels of the peripheral river system. The situation worsens when monsoon runoff, generated due to continuous rainfall, coincides with high water level in the river systems. (UNI)