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Residents in the Dhaka city will suffer water logging as usual in the coming monsoon as the government is yet to reclaim the city’s 43 canals despite an initiative taken five years back to recover them.
   The BNP-led alliance government in 2004 formed a committee named ‘good governance committee’ to recover 26 canals out of 43 from the encroachers.
   But no canals were recovered by the then government. Later, the immediate past military-backed interim government recovered 13 canals but some of them were reoccupied by land grabbers.
   The Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority had undertaken a project in collaboration with the World Bank to develop the recovered canals by re-excavating them.
   ‘But there is no tangible progress in the project work as the World Bank is now only examining the design of the canals,’ a senior WASA official told New Age.
   Another WASA official said almost all the canals in the eastern fringe of the capital have remained occupied by different quarters and they were gradually being narrowed.
   ‘There is no visible step to recover these canals and regular excavation of the canals is no been carried out,’ he added.
   When contacted, Waliullah Skikdar, superintendent engineer of the Dhaka WASA, also in charge of WASA drainage circle, claimed that the water agency was working on reclaiming 26 canals.
   He, however, declined to give any details about the progress in the task.
   Experts warned that the capital city would become unfit for living within a
   short period if the authorities concerned do not take prompt action to reclaim the canals.
   ‘Almost all the 43 canals have been occupied, causing water logging in the city during every monsoon but the authorities are yet to take any step to reclaim the canals,’ Abu Naser Khan, chairman of Save the Environment Movement, told New Age.
   ‘At least 17 to 18 canals are recoverable. The authorities should take steps to recover the canals immediately, otherwise it will be too late to do the task,’ said urban planning expert Professor Nazrul Islam, also a member of the good governance committee.
   Most of the 43 canals have been filled up with dirt totally or partially over the years, Iqbal Habib, another member of the committee, said.
   Habib also criticised the WASA authorities for setting up box culverts on many canals. ‘I think construction of box culverts on a canal is suicidal,’ he added.
   Filling up of more than 70 per cent canals with dirt is the main reason for water logging in the capital city, experts said.
   The canals are the major channels for draining out of rain water from the city, they added.
   Filling up of most of the 43 canals and many water bodies in the Dhaka city has caused a decline in ground water level in Dhaka city, particularly in the central part, experts said.
   Every year ground water level declines between 1.0 and 1.5 meters, they said adding that it will be impossible to lift water through tube wells in 4-5 years due to continued decline in ground water level.

Local residents formed human chain in the city on Saturday demanding immediate gas supply to Khulna through the pipeline.
   Greater Khulna Development Action Coordination Committee, Khulna Press Club and Khulna Nagarik Forum organised the programmes at Picture Palace Crossing and Daulatpur in the city. Thousands of people took part in the programmes.
   A rally was also held at the Picture Palace crossing with Khulna Nagarik Forum chairperson Sheikh Abdul Quayum in the chair. It was addressed, among others, by commerce minister Faruk Khan, state minister for labour and employment Begum Munnujan Sufian, Khulna mayor Talukder Abdul Khaleque, Nazrul Islam Monju MP, former whip Sheikh Harunur Rashid, former lawmaker Sheikh Abul Hossain, Sheikh Moniruzzaman of Communist Party, Hafizur Rahman Bhuiyan of Workers Party, Rafiqul Haque Khokon of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, Khulna Press Club president AK Hiru, KUET vice-chancellor Professor Nowsher Ali and Khulna University vice-chancellor Professor Md Saifuddin Shah.
   The commerce minister said the present govern-
   ment was committed to supplying gas to Khulna through the pipeline for the development in the southwestern districts of the country.
   He also said the government would implement the Padma Bridge Project by 2013 and would modernise the Mongla port.
   The mills in the region will be modernised through balancing, modernisation, replacement and expansion, he added.
   Speakers at the rally protested the move to divert the fund from the Bheramara-Khulna Gas Transmission Line project into the gas compressor project in Sylhet.
   They said that the diversion of money from the project was a ploy to deprive them of gas supply and demanded immediate gas supply to Khulna through the pipeline.

Concentration of dust has crossed the standard limit by five to ten times in the Dhaka city depending on area and time, causing severe air pollution, said experts and green activists on Saturday.
   ‘The Bangladeshi standard of suspended particulate matter level in residential areas is 200 µg/m3. But the level touched 2000 µg/m3 in different parts of the city,’ chairman of Save the Environment Movement, Abu Naser Khan, told a seminar on air pollution in the capital.
   He said average dust concentration in the air of the capital varies from 1000 to 1200 µg/m3 which is five to six times higher than the Bangladeshi standard and 7 to 8 times higher than the WHO standard. WHO-set SPM level in commercial areas is fixed at 120 µg/m3, he added. The dust concentration, however, falls after the rains, Naser Khan said.
   The Save the Environment Movement and Dust Pollution Council organised the seminar titled ‘severity of dust in city’s air: reasons and way-out’ at the National Press Club.
   The seminar was addressed, among others, by convenor of the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas and Port Eng Sheikh Muhammad Shahidullah, chief of the Dust Pollution Council, Eng Shamsul Wares, educationist Latifa Akand, Dhaka City Corporation town planner Md Sirajul Islam, and Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh vice-chairman Syed Nazrul Bidyut. Mohammad Jafor Beg, member of the Dust Pollution Council, read out the keynote paper.
   ‘The average ambient concentrations of dust are higher than the Bangladesh national ambient air quality standard and much higher than the WHO guidelines,’ Jafor Beg said in the keynote.
   Dust is the result of the increasing spate of construction of roads, buildings, other structures and digging of roads, lanes and by-lanes by utility services, he noted.
   Green activists called on the government to formulate special policy to contain the steady increase in dust concentrations in the city and to instruct all the authorities concerned to take strong measures to follow the respective rules while constructing building, digging roads and sweeping the roads.
   ‘Severe air pollution is threatening public health in the Dhaka city,’ said Eng Sheikh Muhammad Shahidullah.
   As per provision of the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha, all have to cover the construction sites with thick jute or plastic sheets so that no dust or materials can fall down during construction work,’ Wares said.
   But despite the rules, only a few construction sites were found to be covered, he pointed out.
   Sweeping of the city roads at daytime is another reason for increase in dust, Wares said adding that according to corporation rules, garbage collection and its disposal should be done before 8:00am but the rule is not duly followed.

Fire is emerging as an unmanageable threat to high rises as most of the city buildings are being constructed violating the Bangladesh National Building Code, experts told a roundtable on Saturday.
   They said the government should look into the buildings constructed without Rajuk permission. The roundtable titled ‘Fire Safety in High Rise Buildings and Provision of BNBC’ was held at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh.
   Addressing the discussion, the state minister for public works Abdul Mannan Khan said some inspectors have been appointed to Rajuk to monitor the buildings constructed violating the BNBC rules after having their designs passed by Rajuk.
   ‘This irregularity has become regularity, no matter what cause lies behind it. So, the activities of these inspectors will also be brought under the microscope of the monitoring cell,’ he said.
   M Azadur Rahman, managing director of Acumen Consulting House Ltd said there is no alternative to preserving the lakes and water bodies of the city to ensure easy availability of water in case of any fire incident.
   He said BNBC measures have been divided into three categories for fire protection, preventing or controlling propagation of fire, allowing escape routes to save lives and fire-fighting arrangement to quickly put out fire.
   Presided over by IIB chairman Eng Nurul Huda, the meeting was addressed, among others, by Professor Jamilur Reza Chowdhury and M Anwar Hossain.
   They said the high cost of land and reluctance of concerned regulatory and planning authorities are encouraging owners to construct buildings with bigger floors and levels than the permitted ones.
   They said skyline of this sprawling city has become chaotic due to haphazard construction of high-rises putting the lives of city dwellers at risk.

Local people formed a long human chain in Rajshahi city demanding continuation of BRTC bus services in the district and upazila areas.
   Hundreds of people under the banner of ‘Sachetan Rajshahibasi’ formed the human chain at 11:00am at Saheb Bazar Zero Point.
   In the human chain programme, speakers said BRTC bus services were gaining popularity but private sector bus owners were hatching conspiracy to stop the bus service for their own interest.
   They urged the government as well as local administration to continue with the BRTC bus services as usual and threatened to go for tough movement if the bus services were stopped.
   Language movement hero Abul Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman Khan, Liakat Ali Liku, Entazur Rahman Babu and freedom fighter Shahjahan Ali Barjahan spoke.
   Earlier, bus owners and employees brought out a procession in the city to press for their seven-point demands, including cancellation of lease of BRTC
   bus, route permits in
   the upazilas of the district and stoppage of plying of vehicles like Nasiman and Kariman.

The Russian Centre of Science and Culture will hold a gala evening today in Dhaka to celebrate its 35th anniversary.
   The foreign minister, Dipu Moni, is scheduled to attend the inaugural function, said a press release issued by RCSC on Saturday.

A garment waste fabric trader was found dead in the Thatari Bazar area under the Sutrapur police station in the city early Saturday.
   The deceased was Rony, 28, also a criminal listed with the Sutrapur police station, the police said.
   The police recovered the body, wrapped in a sack, at around 12:30am after unidentified assailants dropped it on the road from the rooftop of a high rise building.
   The body had multiple marks of injuries and blood was oozing out of the mouth, the police said, adding that he might have been tortured to death by unidentified assailants following a dispute over jhut (waste fabric) trading.
   Rony was also involved with anti-social and criminal activities, including extortion, they said.

A three-day ‘Planning Week’ was held at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology from April 8-10 with the theme of Planning for Inclusive Urban Development.
   The state minister for housing and public works Abdul Mannan Khan attended the concluding ceremony as the chief guest. URP Students Association of BUET and Department of Urban and Regional Planning organised the week, a BUET press release said.

Weather is likely to remain mainly dry with partly cloudy sky over the country during next 24 hours till 6:00pm today.
   There are chances of rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind over Sylhet division and the regions of Tangail and Mymensingh, Met Office said.
   Mild to moderate heat wave may sweep over Khulna division and the regions of Barisal, Patuakhali, Faridpur, Rajshahi and Ishwardi.
   Day temperature may rise by 1-2 degree Celsius over the country.
   The sun sets in the capital today at 6:19pm and rises tomorrow at 5:39am.
   Country’s highest temperature 37.6 degrees Celsius was recorded on Saturday at Jessore lowest 18.8 degrees at Dinajpur.