Bagerhat Town: Rain exposes poor drainage system

The recent rainfall has once again exposed Bagerhat municipality’s woefully inadequate drainage system and the sufferings it can cause to town dwellers.
Residents living in the municipality town always remain in constant fear as even a brief shower of one or two hours could once again submerge the town.
The drainage system of the municipality is so inadequate that even normal rainfall exceeds its capacity, local residents said.
They also urged the authorities concerned to take immediate step to prevent future flooding.
Last week, several hours of continuous rainfall flooded the entire town brought the daily life to a standstill.
Several important roads, including Khan Jahan Ali Road, Rail Road and PTI Intersection, and many residential areas of the town were completely submerged, making it difficult for local residents to manage their daily life.
People living in the town’s low-lying areas were the worst sufferers as most of the roads in those areas were either impassable or waterlogged.
Meanwhile, townspeople are getting extremely frustrated by the frequent waterlogging issue.
Sabiha Khanam of Puratan Bazar area said, “Water enters our houses even after a little rain. All the families here have been experiencing the same problem for a long time.”
People won’t get relief from such a situation until the drainage system is improved, she added.
While talking, Manik Howlader, a pedestrian, also blamed the long-neglected poor drainage system for the flooding and waterlogging.
Despite repeated attempts this correspondent could not reach any high officials of the municipality for their comments in this regard.
Earlier, Assistant Engineer Rezaul Karim Rizvi said repair work of five kilometres of drains in already underway.  The municipality also have a plan to excavate the five canals, flowing through the town, to fix the waterlogging problem, he said.