Sufferings as rain leaves cities waterlogged
In the capital, potholes filled with the muddy and foetid water triggered a traffic chaos on Tuesday. Many households and shops were inundated
Persistent rain throughout Monday due to Cyclone Sitrang left major cities in the country waterlogged on Tuesday too.
People in Dhaka, Chattogram, Barishal and Khulna city had to suffer as many streets remained under water till Tuesday evening, as the cyclone weakened.
In the capital, potholes filled with the muddy and foetid water triggered a traffic chaos on Tuesday. Many households and shops were inundated.
"I had to go out wearing a lungi in the morning as the road adjacent to my house is under knee-deep water," Hasibul Haque, a resident of Dhaka's Mohammadpur area, told The Business Standard.
"The roads are horrible. I had to pay Tk100 just to cross the submerged part by a rickshaw though the fare is Tk20 maximum in regular time," he added.
The Met Office recorded 255 millimetre rainfall in 24 hours until Tuesday morning – the highest in the past 12 years. This led to Dhaka's Mohammadpur, Kalyanpur, Mirpur's Pirerbag, Uttara-Airport Road, Tejgaon, Dhanmondi, Bangshal, New Market, Uttarkhan, Dakshinkhan, Bhatara, Badda, Azimpur, Demra, Jatrabari, Jurain and other areas submerged.
Two Dhaka city corporations point the finger at the unusual rainfall for the prolonged waterlogging. Officials said the water will be channelled out if the weather remains normal.
Kamrul Islam, a resident of Mohakhali area, said the water receded from the main roads in the afternoon, but the streets were still under knee-deep water. Basements of most of the buildings were flooded causing trouble to ground floor residents and water supply to other apartments.
"We couldn't take a shower all day," he told The Business Standard.
Salma Begum, a resident of Azimpur, said she moved to a family staying on the first floor as water entered her ground floor apartment. "I have put some of my furniture on the bed and brought other valuables with me here."
SM Sharif-Ul Islam, Chief Waste Management Officer of Dhaka North City Corporation, told The Business Standard that it was not possible to drain the water in many areas by Tuesday due to persistent rains and the high water level of rivers around Dhaka.
He said the drainage system in Dhaka airport area was already ailing. Besides, newly included wards to the city corporation do not have any drainage system at all – giving them a tough time after the cyclone.
Apart from inundated roads, trees crushed by gale winds on roads contributed to traffic chaos in the capital. According to the fire service, they found fallen trees at at least 300 points in Dhaka on Tuesday morning.
A number of places in port city Chattogram, Barishal and Khulna were also under water till Tuesday evening.
Barishal City Mayor Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah said a project worth Tk2,600 crore has been submitted to the ministry for dredging the canals. If the project is passed, it is expected to solve the waterlogging issue of the city.
However, Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon Barishal Coordinator Rafiqul Alam blamed an unplanned drainage system for the waterlogging. He said people have to suffer because there is not enough open space to accumulate the rainwater.
