United News of Bangladesh

The Ministry of Water Resources will soon hand over the Dhaka-Narayanganj-Demra (DND) embankment project to the city corporations to improve drainage management and reduce long-standing waterlogging in the area. Water Resources Minister Md Shahiduddin Chowdhury Anee made the announcement on Wednesday after a meeting with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on the DND project held at the Cabinet Division conference room at the Secretariat. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, the minister said waterlogging has remained a major problem in the DND area for many years despite completion of a development project launched in 2016. “A project was launched in 2016 and it completed in 2024. But we are still not getting expected benefits and waterlogging continues in many areas,” he said. Anee said representatives from the Water Resources Ministry, Local Government Ministry, Dhaka and Narayanganj city corporations, Narayanganj deputy commissioner’s office and experts attended the meeting and elaborately discussed the long-standing waterlogging problem in the DND embankment area and possible ways to address it. “After detailed discussions, we have decided that the DND embankment project under the Water Resources Ministry will be handed over to the (Dhaka and Narayanganj) city corporations,” he said. The minister said most parts of the DND embankment area fall under the jurisdictions of the Dhaka South and Narayanganj city corporations. He expressed hope that coordinated efforts by all agencies will help remove waterlogging and ensure better waste management in the area. “The city corporations will also supervise waste management so that canals and drainage channels remain free from waste,” he added. Anee also said the government plans to take up another project involving around 30 kilometres of new drainage infrastructure to further improve the drainage system in the DND area. “We will soon start the work so that people can receive the benefits quickly. We are hopeful that visible progress can be achieved very soon. We expect to complete the process within two weeks,” he added. State Minister for Water Resources Forhad Hossain Azad, State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Mir Shahe Alam, Dhaka South City Corporation Administrator Abdus Salam, Rajdhani Unnayn Kartripakkah (RAJUK) Chairman Engineer Md Riazul Islam and Local Government Division Secretary Md Shahidul Hassan, among others, attended the meeting.