Wasa prepares to tackle water logging

A Wasa box culvert on Panthapath kept open after cleaning. PHOTO: STAR

"Japan government is donating a range of modern equipment including excavators, cranes, vehicles and high power pressure pumps to keep the sewerage lines clean," said an official of Wasa's drainage circle.

The Japanese donation of Tk 50 crore for the purchase of equipment comes at a time when Wasa officials are struggling to handle water logging problem of the city. They said the equipment would be vital to keep the drains flowing and sop water logging.

"The works we are doing manually now taking risks of lives could then be done mechanically and much more promptly," said the official.

With the onset of the rainy season the Wasa has now taken up a cleaning program of the main storm sewerage lines stretching over an area of 10.5 kilometres in the city.

An official source in the Wasa's drainage circle said that the entirety of the sewerage lines in the city is choked with sand and solid wastes. During the months of April, May and June, when the markets are flooded with seasonal fruits, the sewerage system almost collapses.

" Every day the DCC is able to remove 2,000 metric tons of garbage out of 4,000 tons generated in the city and hundreds of tons of this left out garbage end up in the sewerage lines," said the drainage circle official.

Wasa experts also blamed construction sites in the city for water logging. They said most sewerage lines get silted with various construction materials.

"Every year we have to spend over two crore taka to remove hundreds of tons of sand and other construction materials from the sewerage to reduce water logging," said a Wasa official.

The biggest problem for Wasa's drainage circle to contain water logging is DCC's garbage management at the city's kitchen markets. During rainy season Wasa officials are constantly on the move to keep the sewerage lines open near the kitchen markets.

"Problem with polythene is almost gone but now we have kitchen market wastes and construction materials causing havoc during monsoon," the official said.