The meeting, which lasted around one and a half hours, was attended by officials from various departments of the city corporation, project stakeholders, the divisional administrator, and law enforcement agencies.
A rickshaw pulls a passenger through chest-deep water after the season’s first downpour leaves many streets in Chattogram waterlogged. The photo was taken on 28 April 2026 from the city’s Prabartak intersection. Photo: Md Minhaj Uddin/TBS
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A rickshaw pulls a passenger through chest-deep water after the season’s first downpour leaves many streets in Chattogram waterlogged. The photo was taken on 28 April 2026 from the city’s Prabartak intersection. Photo: Md Minhaj Uddin/TBS
The government has decided to form a coordination committee involving all relevant agencies to address the persistent waterlogging problem in Chattogram, State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development, and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam said.
Speaking to journalists after inspecting several waterlogged areas in the city, the state minister announced at a coordination meeting held at the Chattogram City Corporation office in Tigerpass yesterday (29 April).
He said reports circulating on social media and in the media about the city being submerged were “false, baseless and exaggerated.”
The meeting, which lasted around one and a half hours, was attended by officials from various departments of the city corporation, project stakeholders, the divisional administrator, and law enforcement agencies. The state minister said that field visits did not find significant waterlogging in most parts of the city.
Temporary water congestion was observed only in the Probotok Mor area due to ongoing development work by the Chattogram Development Authority.
He added that ongoing canal re-excavation projects have created some obstacles to water flow in certain areas. These obstacles will be removed within the next five days to restore normal water movement, while permanent infrastructure will be constructed after the monsoon.
Mir Shahe Alam said the Bangladesh Army’s 34 Engineering Brigade has already completed work on 30 out of the city’s 36 canals and removed around 6,000 illegal structures.
Work on the remaining canals is ongoing and is expected to be completed within this year. He further said waterlogging in the city has decreased by 50 to 60% in 2025 compared to 2024, adding, “It will be possible to control 90 to 95% of the problem in the next season.”
The state minister noted that the lack of coordination among multiple agencies—including the Chattogram Development Authority, Bangladesh Water Development Board, and port authority—has contributed to the problem.
To address this, a coordinated committee will be formed under the leadership of the mayor of Chattogram City Corporation, and a government gazette will be issued after returning to Dhaka.
“Traffic, waterlogging, or any other civic issue, decisions can be taken quickly and resolved through this committee,” he said.
Mayor of Chattogram City Corporation Dr Shahadat Hossain said coordinated efforts over the past year have reduced waterlogging by 50 to 60%, expressing hope that it would reach 70 to 80% once ongoing projects are completed.
He also announced that an integrated citizen service app will be launched on 15 May to incorporate technology into urban management, allowing residents to report issues such as waste, open manholes, or waterlogging directly.
“Not only infrastructure development, raising public awareness is now a major challenge,” he added. Officials at the meeting emphasised the need for coordinated efforts to improve waterlogging management, traffic systems, and overall civic services in the city.
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