Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) has decided to re-excavate 16 canals in the port city on a priority basis to ease the waterlogging problem ahead of monsoon.

The decision was made at a coordination meeting in the CDA auditorium yesterday.

Recently, the government has released Tk 500 crore under a project took up by CDA titled, "Canal re-excavation, expansion, renovation and development of waterlogging of Chittagong city". The Tk 7,000-crore project was approved by Ecnec (Executive Committee of National Economic Council) in June last year.

The Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives also formed a committee for better coordination among various organisations. Housing and Public Affairs Minister Engr Mosharraf Hossain was made president of the committee.

Though the project includes 36 canals, CDA would re-excavate 16 canals ahead of monsoon on an emergency basis.

In the coordination meeting, Engr Mosharraf said the 16 canals will be re-excavated to ease the port city's waterlogging problem.

"We want to excavate the canals in a way so that water can recede soon after the heavy rainfall," he added.

Once started, the excavation work will be completed within three months, said Abdus Salam, chairman of CDA. The areas which suffered most in the last monsoon will get a relief this year, he added.

Representative of Chittagong Port, Chittagong City Corporation, Water Development Board, and Chittagong Metropolitan Police were present among others.