Waterlogging in airport area: BR filling of water body makes matters worse

People in many areas of the country are facing waterlogging and those in the airport area of ​​the capital are no exception.

More than six months ago, the Bangladesh Railway authorities filled a water body near the airport railway station as part of the Dhaka-Tongi-Joydebpur railway expansion project. Due to this Uttara, Ashkona, Dakshinkhan areas and even the airport facilities face severe waterlogging during the reason of rain causing immense suffering to the people of these neighborhoods.

As part of the project, two additional lines and platforms will be built for commuters in the area.

The water body played a vital role in containing rainwater and mitigating floods during monsoon.

Environmentalists have expressed concern and warned that filling bodies of water in the city could have a serious impact on biodiversity and could make flood control more difficult.

Sharmin Begum from the airport area said, “The actions of the railway authorities have left our houses and streets flooded. Do they even care about the misery they are causing?”

Al Mamun, a resident of Uttara’s Sector 2, said, “The recent rains had caused water logging in my house like never before. Now the flooding has become constant whenever it rains.”

In response to the situation, Dhaka North City Corporation wrote to the railway ministry on June 13 this year, noting that even a rain was causing waterlogging due to the filling of the water body water

Speaking to The Daily Star recently, DNCC CEO Mir Khairul Alam said, “After the railway authorities filled the water body, we wrote to them asking them to restore the reservoir to its original state .

“We also asked the railway to make the culvert at least three meters wide so that water can flow properly and meet future needs.”

During a recent visit, this correspondent found that those responsible for the railway project had cordoned off the area and were using bulldozers to level the land, which had been completely filled with dirt.

Several trees have also been cut down.

Contacted, Nazneen Ara Keya, project manager, said that blaming the railway authorities alone for the congestion was not acceptable.

“To reduce waterlogging, the DNCC drainage pipe is to be connected to a nearby canal through a culvert. However, the construction of the drainage pipe is not yet complete.”

The work on both the projects, the construction of the city corporation drain and the construction of the railway culvert, are yet to be completed, he added.

“There was a small trench here which the railway authorities filled for the project work. Once completed, it will benefit the public. No railway buildings or offices are being constructed here.”

Speaking to this correspondent recently, he further said that a meeting was held in which the municipal corporation asked them to widen the sewer, increasing its width to three meters. The railway authorities accepted this request.

“Contractors working on the project are currently in India and once they return, a new design will be done. Widening the box culvert will help prevent clogging.”

In an interview with this newspaper in July, newly appointed Environment Advisor Syeda Rizwana Hasan highlighted the crucial role of water bodies in retaining water during the monsoon.

He asked the railway authorities to restore the water body.

Even if the railways owned the water body, they should not have filled it without proper permission, he said.

“In metropolitan areas, the environment department and national housing authorities oversee these actions under environmental conservation laws. However, as this area is filled under the Detailed Area Plan , it is assumed that the city authorities do not have to approve this action.

“The railway authorities are doing illegal activities and sending a very bad message to the society.”