Landslides usher Mayor Nasir into office
On the first day of Mayor AJM Nasir Uddin in office, Chittagong city saw worsening of waterlogging in most of its parts and two rain-triggered landslides.
Addressing the two problems would be major challenges in the next five years of his journey. In addition, the Chittagong City Corporation faces a debt of Tk 250 crore.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Nasir said he would gradually solve the problems but cited the corporation's manpower shortage as a major setback.
The Awami League leader was elected mayor for the first time through an election on April 28, and took office yesterday along with 41 general councillors and 14 councillors from reserved seats.
"I assumed the mayoral office today with the burden of a Tk 250.39 crore debt," Nasir said, adding, "I will take effective steps to repay the debt in phases."
Speaking to the press, Nasir put forward his plans to modernise the waste management system, establish good governance, restore the reputation of the corporation's health department, develop its education department, and ensure sustainable use of technology in all development interventions.
"I will show zero tolerance against any sort of irregularity and corruption for ensuring all public services," said the mayor.
Replying to the queries of reporters, Nasir claimed that waterlogging was not lasting long now despite heavy rains for the initiatives he took after taking oath in May.
"Waterlogging is a long-standing problem and I inherited it," he said.
Nasir, whose key electoral pledge was to end the problem forever, said, "On a priority basis, I will take annual plans for the areas experiencing waterlogging so that it is mitigated in targeted areas. This way, the whole city will be freed from waterlogging gradually."
STILL WATERLOGGED
As heavy showers continued for the third day yesterday, houses and markets in many low-lying parts of the city remained flooded.
Md Humayun, a phone and fax shop owner of Shulak Bahar, said his shop was inundated by rainwater at least thrice in the last three days.
"How will we run our business? All mobile phones and stuff in the shop were damaged by water," he said.
Till the afternoon, no vehicle plied in Muradpur, Bahaddarhat, Sholashahar and Mehedibag as the roads were under knee- to waist-deep water.
Waiting at Tiger Pass Intersection around 12:00 noon, Mamunul Haque, an employee of a C&F firm, said, "I have been here for one hour but I saw no bus."
Badurtala and Bayezid areas experienced the same.
'RESULTS IN TWO YEARS'
Talking to The Daily Star about waterlogging, the new mayor hoped that people would see visible progress of his initiatives in two years.
"I will construct sluice gates at the mouths of the canals, through which tidal water enters the city," Nasir said.
"I will take advice from resource persons and take necessary steps in keeping with the city drainage master plan to solve the problem."
The mayor would also take action against the grabbers of the canals.
LANDSLIDES
In the last three days since Friday, the Met Office recorded 214, 251, and 235 millimetres of rainfall respectively.
The heavy rains already triggered landslides at two places in the city yesterday.
Though no casualty was reported, the damage that occurred does not bode well, particularly for the low-income people living in hill slopes.
An estimated 30,000 people are at serious risk of rain-induced landslides.
Forid Ahmed, meteorologist at Patenga Met Office, said, "Heavy rains could continue for two to three more days. The possibility of rain-induced landslides in hills is also high."
Around 7:00am yesterday, a chunk of earth from the adjacent Manila Hill collapsed onto Chittagong District Shilpakala Academy.
Breaking the wall and the windows of a classroom of the academy's main building, mud spread in an office and two classrooms, said district cultural officer Moslem Uddin Shikdar.
The hill collapsed along a length of 30 feet, said the official.
Three hours before that, at 4:00am, a portion of Prabartak Hill fell on the wall surrounding Prabartak Palli with a bang, said Pulak Chowdhury, a resident of the neighbourhood.
Pulak said the area became risky due to cutting of the hill and building unplanned structures.
Sources said the hill management committee this year declared the two hills as vulnerable to landslides.
Though several hundred people were killed in landslides in the past and eviction drives were conducted this year, thousands of people are still living in the risky hills.
Landslides have already taken six lives -- three kids in Amin colony Tankir hill in Bayezid and three in Lalkhanbazar Pora colony in Khulshi on July 19, increasing the landslide toll to 191 since 2007.
Since the monsoon started, the district administration evicted residents of 400 houses in the risky hills of Lalkhanbazar, Roufabad, Amin Colony, AK Khan and Motijharna.
But most of the evicted people returned.
At a rented house in Amin Colony, the very place where three kids of a family died in the July 19 landslide, Ayesha Begum, 36, was cooking rice with two neighbours on Saturday amid torrential rains.
Ayesha narrowly escaped death with her husband on that fateful night. Both were stuck under a chunk of mud that fell on the house. But the horror did not deter her from living there.
"We have no other place to move to. The authority has taken no steps for our shelter and food. Where should we go during rain?" asked Ayesha.
Some 3,600 families live in Tankir Pahar and Textile Pahar, both owned by Amin Jute Mill. Most of these families are at risk of landslides, locals said.
Mohammed Babul, who worked in the jute mills for 42 years, said almost all the residents, both mill workers and outsiders, had been living at the place for more than 30 years.
Similarly, hundreds of families were living in shanties in Shantinagar, Roufabad hills, Bayezid, Lalkhanbazar, Motijhorna, Akbershah, Pahartali Biswocolony, ignoring the risks.
Additional Deputy Commissioner and Hill Management Committee Member Secretary Mohammad Elius Hossain said, "We have conducted drives in several risky areas but over 30,000 families are living in the vulnerable hills in the city."
"We cannot bulldoze the houses as it is a problem of over 50 years, and there are many cases centring land ownership," said the ADC, adding that they asked people in the areas to leave during downpours so as to prevent casualties.
Acknowledging the reality, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Meshbah Uddin also expressed his worry, saying landslides might occur any time.
"None wants to leave their houses. And those who have rented out houses are encouraging them to stay," he said.
The official said rehabilitating this huge population was an enormous task. All stakeholders including the landowners, the city corporation, and other government agencies must sit down together. "We would arrange a meeting soon," he said.
Mayor Nasir held the same view.
"As a mayor I sympathise with the poor people living in the hill slopes," he said.
They can be rehabilitated for a short time after eviction, said Nasir.
However, he thinks, only rehabilitation of the people at risk would not solve the problem.
Rehabilitating thousands of people needs big money, he said.
"Only the district administration has the ability to address the big issue without permission of the related ministries," said Nasir.
Coordinated efforts by all stakeholders will be needed, he added.
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