Distressed DND residents

There appears to be a game of ping pong with two ministries, the LGRD and Water Resources ministries, trying to pass the baby to each other in an effort to avoid responsibility of tackling the situation, that has caused the two million or so inhabitants of the area the most indescribable hardship. For the last fortnight, as like several months last year, the people of the DND area have been completely marooned, deprived of the ability to lead a normal life.

The Dhaka WASA is totally non-existent in this area while the Water Development Board has been trying to flush out water with its four pumps. Some of the reasons of water logging such as encroachments of the drainage canals for the rain waters, illegal occupation and construction of structures of various definitions on water channels, unplanned construction of houses and blockage of drainage, unplanned development of the area etc, are known to all. Yet appropriate actions have not been taken despite the Prime Minister's instructions last year to take up the matter on an urgent basis.

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Like so many other areas in our governance, this too is not without its political interference. Reportedly, many of the illegal occupants and encroachers are politically connected and are standing in the way of the authorities taking necessary measures to mitigate the sufferings of the people of the area.

There are many problems inherent and associated with the Cordon Approach to flood control, as is evident from the current situation in the DND area. But these are not insurmountable, more so when the aggravating factors are man-made. Temporary palliatives, like pumping out water, are not obviously the solution. The main reasons for water logging must be removed, and long-term permanent measures undertaken to mitigate, if not render the DND area completely free of water logging.