As Dhaka and Sylhet reel under days of relentless rain, the knee-deep water in city streets has become more than just a nuisance — it is a sobering testament to the chronic failures of urban governance in Bangladesh.
What should have been a reprieve from an unforgiving heatwave has instead morphed into widespread flooding, paralysing daily life.
The New Nation on Sunday reported that from New Market to Jurain in the capital, and Zindabazar to Shibganj in Sylhet, residents are once again left wading through water, abandoned by systems meant to support them.
Despite repeated budgetary allocations and infrastructure projects, the drainage systems in both cities remain woefully inadequate.
Dhaka boasts over 2,200 kilometres of drainage infrastructure on paper — yet in practice, these channels are choked with solid waste, poorly maintained, and fundamentally unfit for a rapidly urbanising city. Sylhet, too, suffers from similar neglect, compounded by the runoff from India’s Meghalaya and Assam.
Authorities have responded with the usual emergency control rooms and round-the-clock reporting. But these stop-gap measures are not substitutes for the structural reforms that have long been overdue.
Residents, such as those in Kalabagan or Chowhatta, express justifiable anger and despair. Their frustration is not just with the water, but with the inaction and apparent impunity of those in charge.
Environmental experts have long warned that unplanned development, illegal encroachments, and the loss of canals and wetlands are rendering our cities increasingly vulnerable.
Architect and activist Iqbal Habib rightly calls for a sincere and strategic overhaul: a long-term, enforceable master plan that prioritises sustainable development, robust waste management, and the restoration of natural drainage ecosystems.
With more rain forecast and monsoon season still ahead, the prospect of worsening floods is real. Yet unless city corporations move beyond reactionary firefighting and towards genuine reform, we will remain trapped in this annual cycle of preventable disaster.
This is not merely about infrastructure. It is about political will, transparency, and accountability. The people deserve more than short-term fixes and hollow assurances. They deserve safe, liveable cities. The time for excuses is long past. The deluge has come — and with it, the demand for real change.
