The Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) is going to construct walkways along the banks of the city canals from next January to protect them from encroachments and maintain smooth water flow of the canals.

The walkways are to be constructed under Dhaka Sanitation Project phase 2 and 3, which would cost more than $100 million. In the second phase of the project, Wasa will construct walkways along seven canals.

A spokesman of the drainage wing of Wasa said construction of the walkways would take two years from the start. Wasa is now demarcating and digging the canals according to the master plan for city's drainage system.

Besides, Wasa is regularly conducting drives and demolishing both makeshift and permanent structures built on the canals to evict illegal occupiers.

The spokesman said Katasur canal, Ramchandrapur canal, Abdullahpur canal, Ibrahimpur canal, Khilgaon canal, Bashabo canal and Shahjadpur canal will get priority in constructing the 5 feet wide walkways.

Sources in Wasa said the designs of the walkways and other infrastructures under the phase 2 and 3 of the project are now under

Project Policy Formulation stage. Consultant engineers are now designing the walkways.

Before next January, finalisation of the design, floating of tender for the construction and giving work order would be completed, the sources added.

Wasa engineers expressed the hope that proper implementation of the

second phase of the project would protect the canals from encroachment and ensure smooth water flow of the canals that would help tackle waterlogging.

But some of the engineers expressed doubt about the implementation of the project properly. A top drainage official said though Wasa was conducting eviction drives to remove all obstacles to the

canals, it failed to clean the canals totally because of legal suits and lack of administrative decisions over land rights.

“The government has not acquired land needed for widening some canals and in some cases it failed to remove illegal structures. So it might not be possible to construct walkways at that points,” the official said.