Dhaka: Adviser for water resources, environment, forest, and climate change Syeda Rizwana Hasan has announced that all canals of Dhaka should be revived to serve as the lifeline of the capital. ‘Household wastes must be disposed of in a planned manner at a particular place.A system will be introduced so that none fell the wastes in the cannel,’ she stated during the inauguration of the Blue Network, which links six canals of Dhaka’s two city corporations at Baoniya.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the Blue Network will connect six canals from Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) after clearing them of encroachers and pollutants. The canals involved in this initiative include Baunia canal, Rupnagar canal, Begunbari canal, Manda canal, Kalunagar canal, and Karail lake, with a total length of 23.66 kilometers.
A committee will be established with local residents every two kilometers along the canals to oversee waste disposal in these areas. Rizwana announced that the six canals would be liberated from encroachment and pollution before the upcoming monsoon season. Additionally, efforts will soon be initiated to clean four more canals from pollution and illegal occupation.
The plan also includes the revival of nine additional canals before the monsoon, with a goal of freeing a total of 19 canals from pollution and encroachment within the year. A master plan for the recovery of these canals will be prepared before the next budget, and financial allocations are anticipated to support these efforts.
Rizwana outlined plans to introduce gardening along canal-side lands and promote fisheries within canal areas. She emphasized the importance of citizen participation in rejuvenating the canals and encouraged local people to actively engage in the initiative.
Chief Waste Management Officer of Dhaka North City Corporation, Captain Mohammad Fida Hasan, delivered a presentation on Dhaka’s canals. The event was attended by several notable figures, including Adviser for Housing and Public Works and Industry Adilur Rahman, Adviser for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Asif Mahmud Swajib Bhuiyan, and other officials.
The project is being executed with the involvement of multiple ministries and organizations, including Local Government, Water Resources, Environment, Housing and Public Works, Dhaka district administration, DNCC and DSCC, Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakhya (RAJUK), Dhaka WASA, River and Delta Resource Center (RDRC), Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA), Green Voice, WBBT, Bangladesh Police, Bangladesh Army, Department of Environment (DoE), and Water Development Board.