THE deplorable condition of the Hazaribagh canal, running through several wards in Dhaka鈥檚 south, is a distressing but unsurprising manifestation of deteriorating urban ecology. A once-functional waterway has been reduced to a choked, festering canal of solid waste. The canal, which connects the Kalunagar sluice gate to the River Buriganga, has not been properly cleaned for more than eight months. Residents there are now forced to live amidst unbearable stench and increased health hazards. Children walk barefoot over the filthy ground and families keep windows shut to head off the stench. Long-time residents say the situation worsens after rainfall as accumulated waste overflows into walkways and compounds. A south city authority official has admitted that no cleaning operation has been carried out in recent weeks because of an ongoing protest at Nagar Bhaban. While such stand-offs may explain recent disruptions, they do not account for the months-long inaction that predates them. The problem at hand is not isolated. It is structural, systemic and symptomatic of a larger failure of Dhaka鈥檚 urban governance.
Like other canals in the capital city, the Hazaribagh canal suffers from a combination of unchecked solid waste dumping, ineffective monitoring, partial clean-ups and a failure to enforce environmental and urban planning laws. Although most tanneries have moved to Savar, residents say a few still discharge chemical waste into the canal. A nearby fish scale factory also has reportedly resumed discharging waste after a brief closure, showing how easily regulatory action is reversed in the absence of sustained enforcement. The canal has been narrowed and shortened because of rampant encroachment, reducing its drainage capacity and increasing the risk of flooding. There is no regular waste removal schedule, no visible monitoring and no proper waste segregation. What is more alarming is that such degradation is citywide. As noted in past assessments, none of Dhaka鈥檚 canals today remain free of pollution and encroachment. City administrations have failed to protect or recover the spaces. The problem is neither new nor undocumented. Surveys and urban development plans have identified and pledged to protect flood zones, canals and water retention areas, yet most such spaces have been encroached on by public and private actors alike. Previous reclamation drives have been episodic.
THE authorities should, therefore, take urgent, sustained action to restore the Hazaribagh canals and others in Dhaka, seal and prosecute repeat polluters and enforce laws to stop encroachment. Waste treatment, encroachment eviction and pollution control should be part of a coordinated and enforceable plan, not a one-off response to complaints or crises.
