Poor drainage system: Little rain floods major roads in Sylhet city

Several major roads in the Sylhet city go under ankle to knee-deep water even after a light rain, allegedly due to poor drainage system, causing immense sufferings to the city’s people.
During a visit to several areas yesterday morning, this correspondent saw a number of main roads in the city, including Old Bus Stand-Railway Station Road, Zindabazar, Tatipara, Jerjeripara, Laldhigirpar, Mirabazar, Shibgonj roads in Sylhet city went under knee-deep water following an hour-long light rainfall in the morning.
The rain water remained stagnant on the roads for hours as the drains were clogged blocking smooth flow of water.
Students and locals were compelled to use the roads for going to their workplaces and schools and colleges.
Stinks from drains mixed with the stagnant water added to the woes of the locals and pedestrians.
Zakia Sultana, a student of Class-VIII at Sylhet Ideal School and College, told this correspondent that they suffer much as their road to the school remains water logged.
Sohrab Hossain, owner of Pakizah Cloth Store, alleged they were facing losses as the people avoided the market for shopping due to water logging after each drizzle.
Former Mayor of Sylhet city, Bodor Uddin Ahmed Kamran, blamed people of different areas for building various structures without maintaining the building codes. For this, the city also cannot make drains in different areas, he said.
Mayor of Sylhet city Ariful Haque Chowdhury said, “We developed the drainage system to our best in the last three years. But we can not construct new drains as per our planning due to lack of cooperation needed from cityspeople. A section of people created obstruction to water flowing by dumping soil and waste in the drains. And this also causes water logging after a light rainfall, he added.
The water logging problem cannot not be solved without total cooperation of city people, the mayor observed.