Why Dhaka Floods Every Monsoon

Tarif Akhlaq
Why Dhaka Floods Every Monsoon

Dhaka’s Roads Become Rivers

Every year when monsoon rains descend, Dhaka floods. The streets of the capital transform into canals, commuters wade through knee-deep water, and daily life grinds to a halt. The recurring phenomenon is not just the result of heavy rainfall—but a complex interplay of clogged drains, unplanned roads, rampant littering, and systemic neglect. This article examines why Dhaka floods remain a persistent crisis—and what must change.

The Anatomy of the Flood: Rain Is Only the Start

It’s tempting to blame Dhaka floods entirely on the monsoon downpour. Yes, the capital often receives heavy, sudden rainfall that puts enormous pressure on drainage systems. But the real flood emerges when water has nowhere to go. Surface run-off overwhelms shallow drains. Roads built without proper gradient or drainage become barriers. Open drains choke. The rain is merely the trigger; the collapse happens because the city’s infrastructure fails to cope.

A 2020 study on water logging in Mirpur found that Dhaka floods are aggravated by poor drainage capacity, illegal dumping of waste in drains, and inadequate maintenance of roads and drain outlets. The natural channels that once carried floodwater—khals, canals, retention basins—have been encroached on, unmaintained, or filled in. With each new building slapped atop a drained plot, the city loses another sponge that once absorbed rain.

Rubbish Chokes the Drains

One of the simplest yet most destructive factors behind Dhaka floods is the accumulation of rubbish—plastics, polythene bags, discarded food packages, wrappers, bottles—thrown into drain openings or littered across sidewalks. The featured article rightly argues that every piece of trash adds up. Cigarette butts, little packets, plastic films—they may seem insignificant in isolation, but collected en masse, they transform drains into dams.

When drains are clogged, even moderate rainfall cannot flow out. The roads become retention basins. This is evident in everyday scenes: in Azimpur, Mirpur, Mohammadpur, or Old Dhaka, one heavy shower is enough to submerge thoroughfares. The drainage system doesn’t collapse—it chokes on waste.

In fact, current reports estimate that almost 70 percent of Dhaka’s stormwater drains are obstructed—often not by silt alone, but by layers of plastic bags, debris, and sediment.  So when it rains, water fills roads, alleyways, and low-lying neighborhoods first. Dhaka floods aren’t unpreventable; they are amplified by our own neglect.

Roads, Urban Growth, and Lost Absorption

The expansion of asphalt, concrete, and unplanned urban development is another major culprit in Dhaka floods. As new roads, pavements, and buildings proliferate, permeable surfaces shrink. Rain that once soaked into soil now runs off onto pavements. Without adequate drainage, roads act as dams, not conduits.

Many roads in Dhaka have been laid without sufficient slope or elevation, causing water to stagnate. In some spots, poor road engineering means water cannot easily reach drains. Add to that encroachment on canals and wetlands, and you have cities built on flood traps.

The breakdown in spatial planning means Dhaka floods aren’t random—they follow patterns. Low-lying areas, neighborhoods near filled-up khals or blocked canals, and zones with poor drainage infrastructure will always be first to flood.

Health, Economy, and Environmental Consequences

The consequences of Dhaka floods are severe. Stagnant water becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes and diseases like dengue, malaria, and waterborne illnesses. As the editorial “Dhaka’s drains, dengue, and denial” describes: during monsoon, Dhaka’s flooded lanes invite Aedes mosquitoes to breed, and serious dengue outbreaks tend to follow.

Economically, the costs mount quickly. Roads damaged by recurring floods require frequent repair. When businesses shut, productivity falls. Transport costs rise. Commuters waste hours stuck in waterlogged zones. The cumulative burden on citizens and the city is enormous.

Ecologically, floods wash trash, chemicals, and untreated sewage into canals and rivers, degrading water quality. The pollution compounds over time, pushing the city toward ecological collapse.

 Institutional Gaps & Planning Failures

Even with decades of flooding, Dhaka floods persist because governance and planning have not caught up. Multiple agencies—DWASA, BWDB, city corporations, RAJUK—share water and drainage responsibilities, but coordination is weak. Encroachment of drainage lines often happens under the noses of planning authorities, and enforcement is lax.

Budgets are allocated, but projects often stall. Drain cleaning is reactive, not preventive. Many flood control initiatives remain symbolic or surface-level—covering drains, dredging canals, shallow pumps—but fail to address root problems.

Meanwhile, climate change intensifies rainfall events. Urban flood risk research shows that unplanned urbanization and weak drainage management multiply vulnerability. Dhaka’s adaptation lags behind climate stress.

What Must Be Done to Stop Dhaka Floods

To curb Dhaka floods, we need both immediate and systemic actions:

Dhaka floods every monsoon not because rain is too intense, but because the city is forced to drown in its own mismanagement. Roads that lack drainage, drains choked with rubbish, wetlands filled for development—all turn rain into ruin.

But this need not be Dhaka’s fate. If citizens, planners, and government officials act together—improving infrastructure, enforcing waste discipline, restoring natural pathways—the city can resist the flood. Rain should be life, not disaster. The transformation begins when Dhaka’s residents realize: the moment we stop choking drains, Dhaka starts breathing again.

Let monsoons keep coming—not to drown us, but to nourish our resilience.

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