Staff Correspondent

The capital’s city corporations yesterday formally took over the management and maintenance responsibilities of 26 canals and 10 kilometres of box culverts from Dhaka Wasa, raising hope that the city’s long-standing waterlogging problem would be solved.

Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) had been responsible for the 26 canals (84.5km) and the 10 box culverts (around 10km) since 1988. It also looks after 385km of storm water drainage.

The DNCC and DSCC has been managing 2,200km of pipe and surface drains.

Chief Executive Officer ABM Amin Ullah Nuri of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), his Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) counterpart Md Selim Reza, and Managing Director of Dhaka Wasa Taqsem A Khan singed an MoU on behalf of their organisations at a city hotel yesterday.

LGRD Minister Md Tazul Islam at the ceremony said, “From today the two city corporations will have the responsibilities of solving the waterlogging problem of Dhaka city and they will have to do the work taking help from other agencies and residents of Dhaka city.”

He said they had held a meeting on the issue last month and formed a technical committee. With the committee’s recommendations and the prime minister’s approval, Wasa handed over the canals and drainage system along with the necessary manpower, equipment, and technical documents.