Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) has deployed spray cannons across various parts of the city to mitigate the effects of the extreme heat wave by sprinkling water.
“From now on, two large-size water cannons will create artificial rain on the main roads, while 10 small size-browsers will perform the same task in narrow alleys in the city area to ensure people’s relief from the extreme heat wave,” DNCC Mayor Atiqul Islam said on Saturday (April 27).
The DNCC mayor said this while talking to reporters after inspecting the water spray activities to prevent air pollution and keep the city cool during the intense heat in the capital’s Agargaon area on Saturday noon.
Mayor Atiqul went on the programme when Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) predicted that the ongoing very severe to severe and mild to moderate heat wave sweeping over different parts of the country is likely to continue.
The DNCC mayor joyfully joined the excited children in the artificial rain created by spray cannons and said, “We have taken the initiative of sprinkling water on the roads and providing free drinking water to relieve the people a bit in the intense heat weather.”
The city streets will be kept wet and cool through the initiatives and the authorities concerned have been asked to ensure artificial rain at all parks under the DNCC within the next week, he said.
He said that the programme of sprinkling water through the water cannon has been undertaken in line with the suggestion given by Heat Officer Bushra Afreen.
Bushra Afreen, daughter of Dhaka North Mayor Atiqul Islam, has been appointed Bangladesh's first chief heat officer.
Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center (Arsht-Rock), an international organisation working on climate change, selected her for the post to work in DNCC areas to help tackle climate change risks.
The mayor said three special vans with 500 litres of water have been deployed in each ward to provide drinking water to pedestrians and working people.
The vans will move around the ward with clean drinking water and these vans are made in small size so that it can enter the narrow alleys of the city area, he added.
BDST: 1625 HRS, APR 27, 2024
MN/SMS
