The dredging and widening of canals have failed to bring about any positive change in the city life as the rain-induced inundation continues to cause suffering to the city dwellers from the very beginning of the rainy season. The city dwellers said the low-lying areas of the port city go under knee-deep to waist-deep water even during the short-lived rainfall lasting only two to three hours that aggravates the suffering. The commuters have to experience serious gridlock due to inundation of the main thoroughfares of Sholoshahar, Muradpur, Bohoddarhat and Halishahar areas, forcing them to pay transportation fares two or three times higher as the rickshawpullers and auto-rickshaw drivers cash in the situation keeping them hostage, they said. The latest rainfall on Sunday and Monday marooned the people of lowlying Halishahar, Muradpur, Chawk Bazar, Kapasgola, Badurtala, Chandgaon Residential Area, Katalganj, Sholokbahar, Bakalia, Prabartak Intersection and Agrabad CDA Residential Area in their houses under knee-deep to waist-deep water for several hours. Rashedul Hasan said the Halishahar areas are now popularly known as a flood-affected area. Just a two to three hours' rain forced the residents to remain stuck up in their houses while the ground-floor people usually bear the brunt of waterlogging, who are always found to be battling with rainwater to save their properties of being soaked or damaged. Rehena Akter, an official of a non-government organisation, said shortage of transports during the waterlogging in the city also add suffering to the commuters. The rickshawpullers and auto-rickshaw drivers take no time to exploit in such a situation and charge high fares, she added. The CCC started the dredging and widening work of 144 canals and drains of the port city at a cost of around Tk 5 crore with a view to addressing the waterlogging in December last year and claimed to have completed work of over 100 canals by June. It also expected to improve the situation by at least 70 percent this year than the previous year. But due to lack of retaining walls and concrete bed of the canals and tidal regulators at the entry points, the dredged and widened canals are now rapidly being silted up with mud and wastages flowing with the rainwater and thus the canals are returning to its previous condition, sources said. Engineer Ali Ashraf, president of Institute of Engineers Bangladesh (IEB) Chittagong, said digging of new canals and their regular maintenance, construction of retaining walls and concrete bed, tidal regulators at the entry points of the canals, renovation of the sluice gates and linking the secondary canals to the main canals and removal of stagnant water are badly needed to address the problem of waterlogging. CCC Executive Engineer Rafiqul Islam said lack of tidal regulators is one of the main causes of waterlogging in Halishahar and Agrabad CDA Residential areas. Superintendent Engineer (Division-1) Mohammad Abu Saleh claimed that the situation has improved in most parts of the city compared to last year. Sources said a committee headed by Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) Chairman Shah Muhammad Akhteruddin at a meeting on July 13 decided to implement the first phase of the Drainage Master Plan-1995 in this regard. The committee comprising high officials and engineers of the CCC, CDA, Railway, Department of Environment (DoE), district administration, Water Development Board, Wasa and PDB suggested immediate digging of three new canals alongside other recommendations, said the sources. The unprecedented waterloggings caused immense suffering to the city dwellers as well as deaths of over 125 people on June 11 and October 16 last year.