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Rail tracks go under water in city for poor drainage

Helemul Alam
The railway lines between Gandaria Railway Station and Jurain Bazar go under water at least at 10 places after a heavy shower due to lack of proper drainage system This could cause train accidents.
Locals blame filling up of water bodies, construction of illegal structures beside the lines and lack of proper drainage system for the problem.
The Dhaka-Narayanganj train service is sometimes postponed when the stagnant rainwater rises
above the rails, said an official of Bangladesh Railway.
IWcnty trains carry commuters between Kamalapur and Narayanganj every day and the number goes down on holidays, said Stationmaster Gandaria Railway Station Hafizur Rahman
"We had to stop the service for one entire day last year due to rain • induced waterlogging. So far this year we did not postpone any trains but train drivers have to run their trains very cautiously through the waterlogged areas," he said.
Dclwar Hossain who has been living in a slum next to the lines at Munshi Bari Signal in Gandaria for the lust 28 years said the area remains waterlogged for 2-3 days after heavy rains.
"I have seen postponement of many scheduled trains due to waterlogging in the area," hesaid.
The waterlogging situation between Munshibari Signal and Gandaria Bazar is very bad, he said.
Mohammad Musa, a resident of the area, said the only xvay for rainwater in Gandaria Bazar to recede is under the railway bridge built many years ago and it is inadequate. Another exit route for water is needed, he said.
Mohammad Salam a shopkeeper at DLL plot Pushkunipar said waterlogging has worsened a lot since the construction of Jurain Road in 2004 filling up a large water body.
Water bodies near the eastern part of the road have also been filled up and those played an important role in draining out rainwater from the area, he said.
Nazrul Islam, another resident of the area, said illegal structures have been erected on both sides of the road filling low-lying areas with earth.
The bridge xvas over five feet high from the ground 20 years ago but now it is on the same level with the ground, he said.
Around 20 years ago there xvas a long xvater body on the western side of the lines from Gandaria Station to Jurain graveyard, it is not there anymore, said Nazrul.
The extension of Jurain graveyard, Gandaria Bazar and many structures constructed on the filled-up land is another reason for
waterlogging, he claimed. A number of structures beside the rail lines in Gandaria Railway Station were demolished on January 24, 2007 but lack of monitoring has led to illegal occupiers returning to the scene. Besides these, a large number ol structures had been constructed illegally on both sides of the rail lines which is also a reason for waterlogging in the area, said stationmaster Hafizur.
Delwar Hossain, divisional estate officer of Bangladesh Railway, said it is his duty to evict illegal occupiers from railway land but it is the duty of the engineering division to monitor railway land.
He said waterlogging does damage to sleepers of rail lines and creates the chances of soil subsiding under the lines causing the possibility of an accident.
Mokbul Hossain, divisional engineer-1 of Bangladesh Railway, said since the water bodies, which retained most of the rainwater, have been filled up, this has become the main reason for waterloggingon the train lines.
"We have a project to raise the height of the train lines which would start in the next dry season," hesaid.
Mokbul said they do their regular maintenance work and evict illegal structures but those are reconstructed again.
Since the canals and water bodies drained out rainwater in the area, Dhaka Wasa had no rainwater drainage lines there, said Waliullah Sikder, superintendent engineer of drainage circle of Dhaka Wasa.
"We have no plan as yet to set up rainwater drainage lines in the area but we will take the initiative in future," hesaid.