‘Committee working to revive Dhaka’s 55 canals, 5 rivers’

State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam said on Sunday that a committee has been working for the past three months to clean and restore the water flow of five rivers surrounding Dhaka and 55 canals under the two city corporations.
He made the remarks while speaking to the media after visiting Jirani Canal, which is being developed under the Canal Restoration, Rehabilitation and Beautification Project.
State Minister for Railways and Road Transport and Highways Habibur Rashid Habib, Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary ABM Abdus Sattar and Dhaka South City Corporation Administrator Abdus Salam were also present.
Shahe Alam said the committee had held seven to eight meetings with the prime minister, presenting reports and visuals on how to make Dhaka a more beautiful and liveable city.
He said the committee had already inspected the rivers surrounding Dhaka by steamer and ferry and identified the necessary works.
Plans include constructing guide walls and retaining walls along both sides of the canals, planting trees and building walkways. The ongoing canal works have been directed to be brought to a visible stage within the dry season, he said.
Shahe Alam said the initiative to clean the five rivers surrounding Dhaka, preserve their banks, construct guide and retaining walls and plant trees was taken as part of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s vision for the capital.
“At the same time, the goal is to restore the rivers to the condition they were in 40 to 50 years ago and make them suitable for navigation. A total of 26 canals under Dhaka South City Corporation and 29 under Dhaka North City Corporation would be cleaned, while guide walls, retaining walls, walkways and netting would be installed to improve their appearance and restore water flow,” he said.
Plans have also been taken to take Dhaka’s sewerage lines outside the city and treat wastewater through sewage treatment plants (STPs) at designated locations, including Dasherkandi, Pagla, Mirpur, Uttara and Rayerbazar-Madani, before discharging the treated water into the rivers.
“We want a Dhaka without waterlogging, where the 26 and 29 canals remain functional, people have walking spaces along the canals, trees are planted and the five rivers surrounding Dhaka regain their former vitality,” he said.
Various projects have already been taken up and approved, he said, adding that he had visited the Manda, Jirani, Kalunagar and Shyampur canals that day.
“Instructions will be given to the relevant authorities to bring the canal works to a visible stage within the dry season so that they can be used by people and help prevent waterlogging,” he said. He said the existing bamboo bridge in the area would soon be replaced with an RCC bridge.