Tk14,389cr drainage scheme yet to keep Chattogram dry

Despite the implementation of four major projects worth Tk 14,389 crore to eliminate waterlogging in Chattogram, the port city continues to experience widespread inundation during heavy rainfall, exposing persistent governance and implementation gaps despite substantial public investment.

The Chattogram City Corporation (CCC), Chattogram Development Authority (CDA) and Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) are jointly implementing the projects, with officials claiming that most of the work has already been completed. Around Tk 10,500 crore has so far been spent.

However, torrential rainfall once again left large parts of the city under water, disrupting transport, inundating homes and causing severe hardship for residents in low-lying areas.

CDA Chairman Belayet Hossain said the majority of the authority’s flagship waterlogging mitigation project had been completed and that sluice gates and regulators were operating at full capacity to discharge floodwater.

“Managing more than 412 millimetres of rainfall within such a short period is a challenge for any modern city,” he said.

The Chattogram-Hathazari road was submerged, forcing traffic to a standstill and triggering long tailbacks on both sides of the route.

The Chandgaon Residential Area was also heavily flooded, with residents reporting that travelling less than one kilometre from Road No. 5 to the main road took nearly an hour.

Ground floors of numerous homes were inundated, while neighbouring Faridarpara and Shamsherpara were completely submerged. Abdul Latif Road in Shulakbahar and surrounding areas were under waist-deep water.

As continuous rainfall persisted on Wednesday, flooding spread to several additional locations, including CDA No. 1, City Gate, Hemsen Lane in Jamalkhan, the Nasirabad Women’s College area, GEC Circle, Foy’s Lake, the Gorib Ullah Shah Mazar area and the Ispahani Rail Gate area.

Water entered many houses, damaging furniture and household belongings, forcing some residents to leave their homes and seek shelter in safer locations.

The city’s waterlogging mitigation programme began in 2017 and has continued for nearly nine years following repeated extensions of both the project deadline and budget. Four projects are currently under implementation-two by the CDA and one each by the CCC and the BWDB.

Although officials say the projects are nearing completion, residents of low-lying neighbourhoods continue to experience waist- to chest-deep flooding whenever heavy rain occurs, raising questions about the effectiveness of planning, execution and inter-agency coordination.

Calling for restraint amid public criticism, Chattogram City Mayor Dr Shahadat Hossain urged stakeholders not to politicise the situation.

“This is a severe natural disaster. If more than 400 millimetres of rain falls within a single day, flooding occurs in any city. By the grace of God, Chattogram has not yet reached that stage.

Without blaming any organisation, the CCC, CDA, Water Development Board and the Army’s Engineering Corps are working together on the ground,” he said.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Colonel Mohsin, Director of the Army’s 34 Engineer Construction Brigade and the waterlogging mitigation project, claimed that waterlogging had fallen by 80-90 per cent during the current monsoon season.

Speaking at a press conference at Rajakhali Army Camp in Bakalia on Tuesday, he said all remaining work was expected to be completed by February next year, after which the city’s waterlogging problem would be permanently resolved.

He said the Army assumed responsibility in 2018, under a memorandum of understanding with the CDA, for implementing works worth approximately Tk 5,500 crore.

Of the 36 canals included in the project, work on 30 has already been completed. Of the remaining six, five are 98 per cent complete, while work on the Hijra Canal stands at 68 per cent.

The project also includes construction of 163 kilometres of retaining walls, 114 bridge-culverts, six regulators, 21 silt traps, excavation of new canals, widening of drains and road construction.

Presenting project data, Colonel Mohsin said Chattogram had 121 major waterlogging hotspots in 2023, where floodwater typically remained for 35 to 36 hours. The number fell to 61 in 2024 and declined further to 17 by the end of 2025. At present, waterlogging occurs regularly at only four or five of those locations, he claimed.

According to rainfall data collected from the Patenga and Ambagan weather stations, 546.6 millimetres of rain fell between 5 July and Tuesday noon-the highest recorded in the past 43 years. The previous record was 511 millimetres in 1983.

Colonel Mohsin said the drainage project had been designed to handle between 500 and 550 millimetres of rainfall, but this week’s downpour exceeded expectations.

Nevertheless, he said floodwater receded quickly in most areas and described the inundation as temporary “flash water” caused by exceptionally heavy rainfall rather than permanent waterlogging.