Almost half of the area turns into a water body during the monsoon. At that

time, the situation paralyses normal life in the area.

Also, there is a huge swamp which is an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes. Locals dump garbage regularly into the water body causing serious environmental pollution in the entire area.

"Stench coming from the swamp is unbearable during the monsoon,"

said Rita Haque, a resident of road number 12.

The authorities concerned have not yet taken any effective measures to resolve the problems which are aggravating, locals said.

"The developer and the plot owners' welfare association remain silent about our problems," said a senior teacher of South Banasree Model High School.

The locals also complained that the area lacked basic amenities such as street lights, sufficient night guards and a permanent police outpost.

"Due to absence of these facilities, mugging takes place here every day,"

said Kamrul Ahsan, a grocer in the area.

The residents of road number 12 and adjacent area have been suffering from waterlogging for long. The road remains waterlogged throughout the year.

During the construction of a building at West Block, water was pumped from the construction site to the road no 12 at East Block. Due to lack of drainage system, the road remains under water.

"Sometimes the road goes under 3 to 4 feet water that forces the residents to use a bamboo bridge for movement," said AK Rauf Miah who lives on road no 12.

"The problem could be solved by constructing a culvert or arranging a pipe for pumping out water," he added.

"When the roads go under water, our children cannot go to school," said Shahida Banu, a housewife of South Banasree area.

When contacted, AKM Rezaul Karim, deputy general manager of Eastern Housing, said they are trying to hand over the development works of

South Banasree to Dhaka City Corporation (DCC).

"Alternative measures will be taken in the next dry season to pump out water from the area," he said when asked about the waterlogging problem.

But DCC officials said they could not start the development work as the Eastern Housing authorities did not inform them of the problems.

"They have not sent any letter to the estate department of DCC requesting for the development works of South Banasree. So the works on roads, culvert and electricity lines could not be started," said Sultan Ahmed, sub-assistant engineer of DCC zonal office at Tilpapara.