Prayer for An Ailing City

 

I have been bonded with my birthplace Chittagong for almost seven decades. I have been in Dhaka for last several years for professional reasons but I visit Chittagong every month to see my mother who is nearly hundred years old. According to historians, Chittagong is older than 1200 years. Historians have calculated that Arabian and European merchants anchored their ships in Chittagong back in 400 BC. Chittagong port is one of the operational ports in the world. Many ports have gone out of service in course of time. From the viewpoint of history and heritage, Chittagong is different from other districts of Bangladesh. The regional dialect of Chittagong is difficult to understand for people from other districts because this dialect includes a lot of words from Arabic, Persian, Portuguese, Armenian, Greek, Burmese and some more languages.

I have seen this city’s youth during 50s and 60s. But now the city is in intensive care unit (ICU). It may die at any moment. Historians will say once there was a wonderful city called Chittagong which Chinese traveler Heu En Sang had compared to a sleeping fairy. Some inhuman people are about to kill this sleeping fairy. Ibn Batuta from Morocco also visited this city. This city was also visited by the soldiers of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. But everyone blames the government, city corporation, mayor for the upcoming annihilation of this city but no one takes responsibility on his or her own shoulders. I passed last few days in my favourite city Chittagong for attending a familial program. Like the previous years, this year also this city went under water following rainfall. People faced immense sufferings. Everyone condemned the government and city corporation for these hazards but nobody referred to the inhabitants of this city. Yes, the inhabitants of this city are responsible for its critically ailing situation. Until people of Chittagong come to understand their responsibility to save this city, someone even more powerful than the city mayor cannot do anything. Even the government is also helpless in this regard.

Young people from the present generation cannot figure out what the commercial capital of Bangladesh once upon a time looked like. This is the only city in Bangladesh where rivers, sea, plain land and mountains beautifully coexist. People of this city earlier had no idea about water logging because rainwater used to flow to Karnaphuly River through several canals which were 30 to 40 feet wide. Chaktai Canal is one of them. My maternal grandparents’ home is located on the bank of Chaktai Canal. Large boats carrying ornaments, salt, rice and timber arrived at this canal. Land grabbers of Chittagong have occupied this canal several years back.

All political parties have a unique alliance for the occupational politics. Hills of Chittagong which existed during 50s and 60s are no longer seen. These hills have been chopped down for building up houses and business organizations for wealthy people. Soil from those chopped down hills mixes up with rainwater flowing to drains and thus stops water drainage system.

Once the government succeeded to ban polythene bags but later on this success could not be retained. In all Indian cities shopping bags cost at least five rupees. I had to buy two polythene shopping bags in Calcutta recently even after buying books worth seven thousand rupees. People of Calcutta carry gunny bags while going to markets. Gunny bags were once upon a time widely popular in our country too. Nowadays polythene bags end up in drains of big cities like Dhaka and Chittagong. It is no overstatement that we don’t understand the difference between dustbins and drains. Chittagong City Corporation has provided free plastic baskets to each home for waste disposal. But still it has been observed that people use these plastic baskets for other purposes while waste materials are thrown into drains. So, water logging persists.

There is no other unplanned city like Chittagong presumably. Markets, shops, machineries are not found on drains in other cities. Once upon a time football and cricket matches were highly popular in Chittagong’s MA Aziz Stadium. There were another four playgrounds outside the stadium where I have passed my childhood. At present there is no playground in Chittagong. Those two playgrounds were annihilated by building up a new Circuit House and a children’s park. Many famous cricketers like Nannu, Nobel, Akram, Tamim and some more sportsmen played on these playgrounds. Nowadays various sorts of fairs are held on these playgrounds instead of sports.

A star-rated hotel emerged overnight on the playground close to Chittagong Club. Besides, the entire stadium area has turned into a space for restaurants. Haphazard buildings have been constructed in other areas too like Andarkilla, Station Road, Chawk Bazar etc. Water stagnation is inevitable under such congested circumstances.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has a special soft corner for Chittagong. Sheikh Hasina got married to Dr. Wazed Miah in a modest, homely atmosphere. Later on Awami League leaders of Chittagong hosted a reception for them in Chittagong Rifles Club. Sheikh Hasina does not forget to recall this memory while speaking at mass gatherings in Chittagong. Sheikh Hasina had declared at a mass rally in Chittagong before the election of 2008 that she would take over the responsibility of this city’s development in her own hands. She allotted sufficient amounts of money for this city’s development. But her efforts did not succeed due to incompetent people holding vital posts.

Two particular services of Chittagong city need to be stated emphatically. First one is Power Development Board while the second one is WASA (Water and Sanitation Authority). The present government has made a record in generating electricity. But people of Chittagong cannot feel it most of the time. Power supply goes out across larger portions of the city after evening which causes annoyance among people about the government. WASA still retains its condition like it was four decades back. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated a big water refinery in the city. City corporation mayor alone cannot eradicate the problems of Chittagong. People of this city need to be more aware of their responsibilities. It may begin with the recovery of Chaktai Canal. If Chaktai Canal can be recovered then there we can hope that this city still has chances to survive. Otherwise one day we will have to admit this lovely, vibrant city has been terminated by its dwellers. Let us together pray for this city.  


Abdul Mannan is an educationist and former Chairman of University Grants Commission.