Excavation of few canals and removal of already identified blockages in the drainage system can save the port city from waterlogging and inundation, said the speakers at a roundtable yesterday. The roundtable titled 'Drainage: A Menace for Chittagong' was organised by The Daily Star Chittagong Bureau Office at its conference room in the afternoon. It was the first of a series of roundtable that The Daily Star Chittagong Office will hold on different development issues of the port city. Speakers at the roundtable strongly criticised the non-coordination among the authorities concerned, particularly Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) and Chittagong City Corporation (CCC), in developing the drainage system following the guidelines of Chittagong Metropolitan Master Plan '95. They also blamed non-availability of fund and lack of support from the government for non-improvement of the drainage system in the port city. The speakers underlined the need for proper monitoring to check construction of high-rise building defying building construction rules and unplanned urbanisation that blocked the drainage system in the city. Putting emphasis on the maintenance of drains and sewerages they said, if necessary even 30 percent of the fund allocated for a road should be spent for the development and maintenance of adjoining drainage system. Abul Momen, adviser to the editor for The Daily Star in Chittagong, moderated the roundtable where Engineer Ali Ashraf, chairman of the Institution of Engineers Bangladesh, Chittagong chapter, made a power-point presentation on the drainage system in the port city. Professor Emeritus Dr Jamal Nazrul Islam, former chief engineer of Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) Sultan Mahmud, Bangladesh Economic Association, Chittagong chapter President Prof Sikander Khan, Architect Bidhan Barua, Chittagong Stock Exchange President Nasiruddin Ahmed Chowdhury, Architect and Town Planner Zarina Hossain, Engineer Subhash Barua, member of the Forum for Planned Chittagong (FPC), Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) Town Planner Shahinul Islam Khan, Bangladesh Institute of Theatre Arts (BITA) Executive Director Shishir Dutta, Prothom Alo Special Correspondent Mamun Abdullah and social worker Shahriar Khaled were the discussants at the roundtable. The speakers said excavation of only Mirza-Chaktai connecting canal along the CDA Avenue (from Sholoshahar gate no 2 to Bahodderhat) could save a huge area under Panchlaish and Chandgaon police stations from going under knee-deep to waist-deep water even after a medium downpour. They called for immediate excavation of Mirza-Chaktai canal, Chaktai-Karnaphuli connecting canal parallel to Khawza Road and Shital Jharna-Noakhal connecting canal on a priority basis. In this regard the speakers said these three canals were to be excavated under the first phase of the CMMP. The proposals made in the master plan were supposed to be implemented at five different phases within the plan period from 1995 to 2015 at an estimated cost of Tk 750 crore, they informed. Eight years have already elapsed since the gazette publication of the CMMP in 1999, but no visible progress has been made towards its implementation, they regretted. They observed that with the completion of at least first phase of the work, a definite improvement in the drainage scenario of Chittagong could be expected. The first phase of the plan proposed development of drainage system at Sadarghat, Agrabad Commercial Area, Moheshkhali Khal, Chaktai Khal, Mirza Khal and Bakalia Khal, sources said. Engineer M Ali Ashraf said like other cities drainage plan in the port city did not get expected emphasis during the formulation of the city plan. He laid emphasis on proper implementation of the proposals made at the master plan formulated by the Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) in 1995. The CDA itself did not follow the rules to keep enough space for drains while constructing several roads and streets across the city, Ali said. With the passage of time, different roads have been expanded but the size of the drains remains same as was in the past, he added. Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) President Nasiruddin Ahmed Chowdhury questioned the validity of the master plan. Pointing to the matter Architect Zarina Hossain said the trend of constructing high-rise building didn't begin when the CDA formulated the master plan in 1990. She called for taking initiatives to recover a number of drains and canals that have been encroached.