Matuail's monsoon misery persists despite costly drainage project
After every spell of rain, the school’s entrance and adjoining roads go under water as stormwater fails to drain through an inadequate and poorly maintained drainage network.
Highlights
- Recurring floods affect around 2,25,000 Matuail residents
- Tk1,299 crore DND project fails to end waterlogging
- Unplanned urbanization, encroached canals blamed for waterlogging
- Road ownership dispute stalls permanent drainage solutions
- Temporary pumps provide only short-term relief
- Govt 30km of additional drainage infrastructure
Every monsoon, thousands of students at Shamsul Haque Khan School and College in Matuail are forced to wade through foul, sewage-contaminated water to reach their classrooms.
After every spell of rain, the school's entrance and adjoining roads go under water as stormwater fails to drain through an inadequate and poorly maintained drainage network. Overflowing drains mix with sewage and solid waste, creating serious health and safety risks.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
The drainage failures in the Demra-Narayanganj-Demra (DND) area have been persistent despite years of investment under a Tk1,299 crore drainage improvement project.
The impact extends far beyond the school's 20,000-plus students. Thousands of children attending nearby kindergartens, madrasas and secondary schools also struggle to commute during the rainy season. Overall, around 225,000 people living in the surrounding neighbourhood face recurring waterlogging every monsoon.
Residents say the flooding has become a major safety hazard.
"I was travelling by auto-rickshaw after heavy rain when the road became indistinguishable from the adjacent canal. It was impossible to tell where the road ended and the canal began, and I narrowly escaped a serious accident," said local resident Shamima Meherin.
Residents blame unbridled urbanisation
School authorities blame rapid urbanisation and the disappearance of natural drainage channels for worsening the situation.
"Unplanned urban expansion and the construction of numerous multi-storey buildings have filled natural drainage channels. At the same time, many roads remain lower than surrounding developments, causing rainwater to accumulate," said Milton Hossain Mollah, assistant head teacher of Shamsul Haque Khan School and College.
He said the school has repeatedly raised the issue with the authorities, but to no avail.
"Thousands of students suffer during rainfall. We even organised a human chain to draw attention to the problem," he said, adding that the school's principal has contacted the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) and relevant ministries seeking immediate intervention.
Local businesses also count the cost every time heavy rain hits.
Shopkeepers say stagnant water discourages customers, restricts movement and creates foul odours, resulting in significant financial losses during the monsoon.
Jurisdictional complications delaying solutions
According to Air Commodore Md Mahbubur Rahman Talukder, chief waste management officer of Dhaka South, fragmented road ownership has become one of the biggest obstacles to a permanent solution.
Although the school area falls within the city corporation's jurisdiction, several adjacent key roads are still under the Roads and Highways Department (RHD), making comprehensive drainage improvements difficult.
"As long as these roads are not transferred to the city corporation through an inter-ministerial decision, implementing an integrated drainage system will remain challenging," he told TBS.
He said surrounding residential areas also lack a planned drainage network, causing wastewater to collect on low-lying roads. Although Dhaka South deploys temporary pumps after heavy rainfall, these measures provide only short-term relief.
The city corporation has repeatedly requested coordinated action from RHD, but no effective long-term solution has yet been implemented, he added.
Dhaka South is now preparing a comprehensive drainage master plan for the 18 wards incorporated into the city corporation.
Mohammad Safiullah Siddiqui Bhuiyan, supervising engineer of Dhaka South's Waste Management Department, said the original DND embankment project did not include a comprehensive drainage strategy for these newly added wards, leaving critical infrastructure gaps.
The proposed master plan includes restoring and recovering canals before reconnecting them with nearby rivers to improve stormwater discharge.
Although water levels at the Shimrail Pump Station outlet remain manageable, many canals have been encroached upon or clogged with plastic waste and sediment, preventing water from flowing efficiently, he said.
Master plan under preparation
The Local Government Ministry has outlined a series of short-, medium- and long-term measures to tackle urban flooding.
Immediate actions include cleaning drains and canals, clearing drainage blockages, deploying portable pumps, upgrading pumping stations and strengthening emergency response teams.
Medium-term plans focus on restoring canals, constructing new drainage outlets to discharge water into the Buriganga River, and expanding urban drainage networks.
Long-term initiatives include developing nearly 50 kms of canals, including Zia Sarani, Kajla and Mridhabari canals, alongside extensive road and drainage improvements across the newly incorporated wards.
DND project brings little relief
The project, launched after an agreement between the Bangladesh Water Development Board and the Bangladesh Army in December 2017, was initially estimated at Tk582 crore before being revised to around Tk1,299 crore in 2020.
Since implementation began in 2018, the Bangladesh Army has installed two heavy pump stations at Adamjee and Shimrail, pumping plants at Fatullah, Pagla and Shyampur, and constructed or repaired 22 bridges, 69 culverts, four cross-drain structures and 44 kms of walkways.
But local residents say the project has done little to ease their misery.
However, another plan is in the making. Following a high-level meeting on 3 June, Water Resources Minister Shahiduddin Chowdhury Annie announced that the government is working on a plan to strengthen the DND drainage system, including the construction of an additional 30 kms of drainage infrastructure.
For residents of Matuail, however, those promises to offer little comfort while flooded roads continue to disrupt daily life every rainy season.
