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green spaces should cover at least 35-40 percent of the total area. In Dhaka, those have been reduced to around 10 percent,” he said.

In 1995, waterbodies covered 20.57 percent of the city’s central area, which dropped to just 2.9 percent by 2023. Similarly, green space shrank to only 9 percent from 22 percent during the same period, according to BIP data.

Adil explained that while artificial drainage systems can reduce the duration of flooding, they cannot eliminate it if natural drainage channels are destroyed.

Though DNCC managed to restore water flow in several canals, including those in Baunia and Ibrahimpur, many others remain choked with solid waste, he said.

“For example, Kalyanpur branch canal at Agargaon, Baishteki canal in Mirpur, and Rupnagar canal near Arambag residential area are clogged with waste. The canal adjacent to Pongu Hospital is dying, while Ramchandrapur canal near Mohammadia Housing is overrun with weeds and bushes,” he said.

Adil suggested that DNCC should consider community involvement to make its cleaning efforts sustainable.

“Within a month of a cleaning drive, canals are filled again with garbage. It’s essential to engage local communities in such efforts for lasting results,” he said.

Former BIP president Mohammad Fazle Reza Sumon said that though DNCC cleaned several canals in areas including Khilkhet and Baunia, the primary drains linked to those have not been upgraded.

He also stressed the need to revise Wasa-2015 Drainage Master Plan, which is no longer suited to shifting rainfall patterns caused by climate change.