Dhaka caving in gradually

The caving-in of the ground surface might not have been a major problem, if it has not put the buildings on it in potential jeopardy

Before our very eyes the ground surface of Dhaka city is falling down, yet no serious effort has been taken to stop this trend. But it should have been considered as a major geographical problem of Dhaka. The caving-in of the ground surface might not have been a major problem, if it has not put the buildings on it in potential jeopardy. The surface is going down because of mindless water extraction of ground water by deep tube wells by Dhaka WASA on the one hand and the ground water recharging effort is rather very poor on the other hand. The buildings on its surface, experts opine, may start to tilt or develop crack, making them even more vulnerable to earthquakes. And it is still a matter of great worry that the geographical position of Dhaka city is one of the most susceptible places to earthquake on earth. 
The measure by which the Dhaka city is caving in is really alarming. According to a report published by this newspaper yesterday, as the groundwater level of many parts of the capital are receding by one to three metres annually, the Curzon Hall area of the city, for example, has caved in by six inches in the last 12 years. The satellite images around Dhaka city as well as different parts of the country show that two mm to 16mm annual caving-in of the ground is taking place in the country.
To stop caving-in of the city, two things are crucially important. One, dependency on ground water has to be reduced, but better it would be if this dependency can be stopped altogether. Two, the ground water has to be sufficiently recharged. The dependency on ground water can be reduced by harvesting abundant rain water during the monsoon and making use of natural sources of water such as rivers and large water bodies. For Dhaka city, bringing back water of the Buriganga, Shitalakhya, Turag and Balu rivers to their natural state is very crucial for domestic use. 
On this direction, industries that are polluting these rivers could not yet be brought under a central effluent treatment plant (ETP) by establishing it since these industries could not be forced to have their own ETPs. Once the rivers of Dhaka are back to their natural state, the WASA will have to withdraw all of its deep tube-wells. Before our very eyes, Dhaka’s rivers have got polluted without any action from the relevant quarters and the pollution is still going on. In absence of seriousness, Dhaka’s ground surface can also dangerously cave in and then planners of the city would have to grapple with the problem with little success.     

 

Dhaka caving in gradually

The caving-in of the ground surface might not have been a major problem, if it has not put the buildings on it in potential jeopardy

Before our very eyes the ground surface of Dhaka city is falling down, yet no serious effort has been taken to stop this trend. But it should have been considered as a major geographical problem of Dhaka. The caving-in of the ground surface might not have been a major problem, if it has not put the buildings on it in potential jeopardy. The surface is going down because of mindless water extraction of ground water by deep tube wells by Dhaka WASA on the one hand and the ground water recharging effort is rather very poor on the other hand. The buildings on its surface, experts opine, may start to tilt or develop crack, making them even more vulnerable to earthquakes. And it is still a matter of great worry that the geographical position of Dhaka city is one of the most susceptible places to earthquake on earth. The measure by which the Dhaka city is caving in is really alarming. According to a report published by this newspaper yesterday, as the groundwater level of many parts of the capital are receding by one to three metres annually, the Curzon Hall area of the city, for example, has caved in by six inches in the last 12 years. The satellite images around Dhaka city as well as different parts of the country show that two mm to 16mm annual caving-in of the ground is taking place in the country. To stop caving-in of the city, two things are crucially important. One, dependency on ground water has to be reduced, but better it would be if this dependency can be stopped altogether. Two, the ground water has to be sufficiently recharged. The dependency on ground water can be reduced by harvesting abundant rain water during the monsoon and making use of natural sources of water such as rivers and large water bodies. For Dhaka city, bringing back water of the Buriganga, Shitalakhya, Turag and Balu rivers to their natural state is very crucial for domestic use. On this direction, industries that are polluting these rivers could not yet be brought under a central effluent treatment plant (ETP) by establishing it since these industries could not be forced to have their own ETPs. Once the rivers of Dhaka are back to their natural state, the WASA will have to withdraw all of its deep tube-wells. Before our very eyes, Dhakas rivers have got polluted without any action from the relevant quarters and the pollution is still going on. In absence of seriousness, Dhakas ground surface can also dangerously cave in and then planners of the city would have to grapple with the problem with little success.