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Published : 27 Apr 2025, 10:30 PM
A team from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has visited the Chattogram Development Authority (CDA) and the Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) to gather information about any “negligence” in the waterlogging relief project after a child died as a rickshaw overturned into a canal in Chattogram.
On Sunday, a team from the ACC’s integrated District Office-2 visited the site of the accident and later collected information from the CDA and city corporation.
Assistant Director Riaz Uddin, who led the ACC team, said: “They went there to verify whether the CDA and the city corporation had neglected their responsibility in the recent incident of a child falling into a canal and dying.
“They spoke to the CDA chairman and those involved in the waterlogging relief project.
“There are 36 canals under the CDA’s work. Out of these, they have completed work on 19 canals.
“The CDA has begun [renovation] work on the canal where the accident occurred. We will see whether railings have been installed on the bank.”
He also said, “The CDA has not formed an investigation committee after this accident, nor did it do so in similar incidents that preceded. We will look into the reasons behind it.”
CDA Chairman Nurul Karim said that the ACC conducts regular inspections by visiting different institutions and collecting information. Sunday’s visit is also part of their regular work.
He said, “They asked us for some information on the waterlogging project, and the concerned authorities have shared it with them.
“They also inquired about the child deaths. The 34th Construction Division of the Army is handling the waterlogging project, with the ministry overseeing the work and the CDA coordinating it.
“We have not yet started work on the canal where the accident happened. Work on the canals is being done in phases.”
Nurul also said, “They asked whether we would provide protection in the canals we have built. Protective measures have been taken.
“According to our plan, about two-foot-high railings have been installed at each canal. Taller fences cannot be installed because they would hinder cleaning.”
A seven-month-old baby went missing after a rickshaw carrying her and her family toppled into an open roadside drain amid a downpour in Chattogram’s Kapasgola on Apr 18. Her mother and grandmother were able to get to safety after falling into the canal, but the currents carried the infant away.
The child’s body was found floating in the Asadganj Shutkipatti section of the city’s Chaktai Canal at 10am on Apr 19, almost 14 hours after the incident.
The child’s family also lives in the Shutkipatti area.
After speaking with CDA officials, the ACC team visited the Kapasgola Hijra Canal where the accident occurred, before moving on to the Tiger Pass City Corporation office.
Chattogram City Corporation Chief Executive Officer Sheikh Mohammad Tauhidul Islam said the ACC asked about the child who died after falling into the canal.
According to Tauhidul, the CDA is digging 36 canals, and the City Corporation handed over the Hijra Canal to the CDA for this work.
