Dhaka North mayor angry over illegal sewerage connections in Baridhara
Only five houses in the area have set up sewer lines maintaining the rules
Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Atiqul Islam expressed anger on Wednesday over illegal sewer connections with surface drains in most of the buildings in the Baridhara area of the capital.
During a drive by the city corporation to disconnect the sewerage lines from surface drains, canals and lakes in the area, the mayor also warned of permanent closure of the lines if the house owners did not stop these connections on their own.
As per the city corporation sources, among the 550 houses in Baridhara, one of the richest areas of the capital, 342 houses have sewer lines connected to surface drains.
Only five houses in the area have set up sewer lines maintaining the rules.
The city corporation placed banana trees in the drains to stop the flow of waste coming from the sewerage lines of four houses in the Baridhara-11 area.
Mayor Atiqul Islam said, "Illegal sewage connections in elite areas is a matter of great regret. The wastes of these houses are supposed to flow through separate Wasa lines. Where there are no water lines, ETP plants should be installed by the house owners to manage the wastes."
The mayor further said that the city corporation will continue conducting such drives in future.
Earlier on 4 January, the city corporation conducted the first operation to stop the illegal sewage connections in roads 104 and 112 of the Gulshan-2 area.
As per the Dhaka North City Corporation, of the 3,830 houses in Gulshan, Baridhara, Banani and Niketan areas, 2,265 sewerage lines are connected to lakes or drains.
Firoz Hasan, president of the Baridhara Society, said, "It is very regrettable that most of the houses in Baridhara connected the sewerage lines to drains. We will discuss with the house owners in the area to take effective measures in this regard quickly."