The open approach to flood control: the way to the future in Bangladesh

Abstract This paper offers a critique of the cordon approach to flood control that Bangladesh has been pursuing for several decades now. It shows how this approach fails to solve the flood problem, deprives the floodplains from benefits of regular river-inundation, creates a risky situation for the inhabitants inside cordons, brings in new problems of drainage and sanitation, and leads to huge waste of resources. The paper then argues for the open approach to flood control as the way to the future. The main components of this approach are: re-excavation of river beds and other surface water bodies, minimization of obstruction on floodplains, increasing the elevation of rural and urban dwellings, restoration of waterways, and promotion of rural settlement consolidation around permanent flood shelters. The paper shows in what ways the open approach to flood control is superior to the cordon approach.