Ctg open drains, canals: Patchwork protections fail to save lives

The authorities concerned have erected a temporary barrier along an open canal in Kapasgola area of Chattogram city, days after a six-month-old baby fell into the canal on April 18 and died.

However, this reactive measure highlights a larger, persistent problem: the significant safety risk posed by numerous open and unprotected drains and canals across the port city, especially in monsoon.

SM Nazer Hossain, vice-president of Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), criticised this pattern of action only after accidents occur, pointing out that many other dangerous open drains, like those in Bahaddarhat, remain unprotected.

Residents fear a repeat of past tragedies, including the drowning of a vegetable trader in a flooded Muradpur canal in 2021 and the death of a university student who fell into an open drain in Agrabad the same year.

A recent Chattogram City Corporation survey identified 134 unprotected spots in drains and canals, 12 uncovered manholes, and 703 drains without slabs across the city's 41 wards.

"We have taken initiative to temporarily protect the risky spots with bamboo fences," said Pranab Kumar Sharma, deputy chief conservancy officer at CCC, adding, "We will also place slabs over the open drains."

A recent visit revealed that many drains, such as the stretches between Muradpur and Bahaddarhat, remain dangerously open and unprotected. The situation is similar on the Muradpur to Sholashahar road as well.

An endless cycle of tragedies

The port city bears a grim tally of at least 10 lives lost to its open drains and unprotected canals since 2017 in a recurring tragedy that intensifies with each monsoon.

Vegetable trader Saleh Ahmed, 50, slipped into the Muradpur Canal's swift current on August 25, 2021, following heavy rain, never to be found despite days of frantic searching by fire service divers.

The same year, on September 27, university student Seherin Mahbub Sadia met a similar fate, falling into an open drain in Agrabad area.

The pattern repeated on April 18 this year, when six-month-old Sehrish drowned into the Hizra Khal at Kapasgola. Her body was recovered after a heartbreaking 14-hour search.

Residents stressed that waterlogging during monsoon heighten the risk of such incidents.

Aiyub Ali, a resident of Bahaddarhat, said, "During monsoon, the roads and drains become indistinguishable for people, and accidents become inevitable."

Repeated surveys, no result

Following Seherin's tragic death in 2021, the CCC conducted a survey in October of the same year, identifying a network of "death traps".

According to CCC sources, a list of risky drains and canals in the city was compiled afterwards, which included a total of 57 canals (161 km) and 765 km of drains.

Of this, 19.23 km of canal banks were without safety fences, while there were open drains in 5,527 places.

Yet, three and a half years later, comprehensive protection remains elusive.

A CCC-CDA coordination meeting on combating waterlogging was held in 2022, where the two organisations emphasised the construction of safety fences on the banks of canals and drains to prevent accidents.

However, little tangible progress was made three years on. 

Meanwhile, the cycle of accidents continued: Md Kamal (2022), Yasin Arafat (2023), and Saidul Islam (2024).

Contacted, CCC Mayor Shahadat Hossain said the CDA is working on 36 canals, while the CCC is handling one canal.

"The projects are progressing rapidly, and we hope to soon install safety barriers along the canals," he added.

"Since the monsoon is coming, temporary protective fences will be provided with bamboo for now. Slabs will be installed over drains as per the survey report," said CCC Chief Engineer Anisur Rahman Sohel.