Among the woes of Dhaka city dwellers is the city’s water logging. Even a little rainfall causes havoc when the city’s traffic movement is taken into account. This year rainy season is still with us and from little to moderate to heavy downpour occurred for all over the country for the past few days and the capital Dhaka was no exception.

The city’s traffic came to face this problem massively as the roads were inundated due to torrential rainfall. The commuters got stranded and they suffered immensely as they usually do. The roads where construction of metro rail is currently going on, this water logging problem got multiplied.

This is the first week of October. The unusual heat of this year’s summer is gone. If heavy downpour occurs as per the forecast of the met office it will not be longer either. By the second or third week of October rain usually does not occur and the Dhaka city dwellers will be automatically relieved of the city’s water logging problem.

But the next monsoon will come and the relevant authorities including the two city corporations and WASA must do their work, of course in coordination, to remove the problems that trigger water logging. Firstly, the city’s main thoroughfares and roads have to be reconstructed where it is necessary.

Secondly, the city’s storm sewerage lines also need to be checked and repaired. The city usually faces water logging in places like old Dhaka, Tejgaon, Mauchak, Malibagh, Shatinagar, Mirpur, Razarbagh, Green Road, Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue as well as Jatrabari areas. The relevant authorities must check out these places to find out where the roads need to be rebuilt and where the sewerage lines repaired or reconstructed.

Thirdly and more importantly, the canals in and around the city must be reclaimed from the hands of the grabber and have to be widened. These canals hardly flow because plastics and other materials have choked them.

Water logging should not be a big problem of a city, but appears to be one in Dhaka. This is due to poor engineering, corruption and absence of good will of the responsible people. It is expected the city dwellers would not face this problem in the coming monsoons.