State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam on Saturday said illegal occupiers would be evicted from 56 canals in the capital through two committees formed for the purpose.
Of the canals, 27 are under the jurisdiction of the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and 29 under the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), said the state minister, while visiting the ongoing canal-cleaning drive at Muslim Bazar Canal in Mirpur-12.
DNCC Administrator Md Shafiqul Islam Khan, who accompanied the state minister, said he wanted to transform Dhaka North into a modern, clean city free from any odours with the support of its residents.
The state minister said the canals would be permanently preserved by constructing guide walls on both sides after demarcating their boundaries following the eviction of illegal occupiers.
"If the canals of Dhaka are not preserved, the city will eventually become uninhabitable," he said, urging city dwellers to cooperate with the authorities in restoring and protecting the canals.
He said the removal of waste and garbage from both large and small canals under DNCC and DSCC was underway and would continue.
The state minister alleged that no sincere cleanliness campaign had been carried out over the past 19 years and said the present government had launched a citywide drive to remove waste from roads, alleys and canals in the interest of city residents.
He said around 450 truckloads of waste had already been removed from Muslim Bazar Canal and similar operations would be carried out in all canals to protect city dwellers from waterlogging during the monsoon season.
Mir Shahe Alam warned that Dhaka would become uninhabitable if the canals were not freed from encroachment and pollution.
He said canal restoration, demarcation, cleaning and waste removal drives would continue as long as the city corporations and their administrators remained in office.
The state minister also warned of legal action and fines against anyone found dumping garbage in canals, near houses or on roads after the areas had been cleaned.
Speaking at the event, DNCC Administrator Shafiqul Islam Khan said all service-oriented and development activities would continue in line with public demand and necessity.
He said that since June 5, some 416 truckloads of sludge and waste had been removed from the bed of Muslim Bazar Canal.
The administrator also alleged that no such initiative to clean canals had been taken during the previous "fascist" government's 19-year rule.
He said all canals under DNCC would be cleaned following the directives of Acting Chairman of the BNP Tarique Rahman with a view to presenting the city dwellers with a waterlogging-free capital.
The administrator said DNCC workers were carrying out regular cleaning drives in roads, alleys, canals and other areas to make the city free from dengue, and the campaign would continue.
Replying to a question from journalists, he said efforts would be made to undertake coordinated development activities with the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) and the Dhaka Electric Supply Company (DESCO) so that the same roads do not need to be excavated repeatedly.
After inaugurating the canal-cleaning programme, the state minister and the DNCC administrator inspected the cleanliness drive in and around Muslim Bazar Canal.