Bangladesh News

Heavy rain triggered by an active monsoon inundated low lying areas in 10 districts and the situation might get aggravated further submerging more areas as major rivers continued to rise in different parts of the country yesterday.
Reports from the affected districts said torrential rain pounded the country over the past one week, touching off floods that left more than one lakh people marooned.

Besides, standing crops on tens of thousands of hectares of land were destroyed. Road links and power supply were snapped in the submerged hamlets.

Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) said the flood situation in the country’s eastern part worsened while it improved in the north-eastern and south-eastern parts.

The rivers Brahmaputra and Jamuna continued to rise at all points and were likely to cross the danger level at Sirajganj and Aricha by the next 24 hours and 48 hours respectively since last night. Low laying areas in the districts of Sirajganj, Pabna and Tangail are likely to be inundated by the next 48 to 72 hours since last night.

FFWC’s latest report said the Padma also continued to rise at all points and was flowing 10cm above the danger level at Goalundo. The river is likely to rise further and might cross the danger level at Bhagyakul by the next 24 hours since last night.

As a result, more low laying areas in the districts of Manikganj, Munshiganj, Faridpur, Rajbari, Madaripur, Shariatpur and Dohar, and Nawabganj upazila of Dhaka are likely to be inundated.

Reports from Comilla said onrush of water from upstream through the River Gomti and incessant rain of the last five days further flooded the low laying areas of about 15 villages in two upazilas there.

Water Development Board (WDB) sources said due to a strong tide in the Gomti, several parts of Daudkandi spur in Titas upazila collapsed again, although workers of WDB under the supervision of army personnel are working there day and night to protect the spur.

Meanwhile, over 25,000 people of the area became marooned in the second onslaught of flood during the current monsoon. The worst affected villages are Goskandi, Das Kandi, and Maniknagar in Titas upazila, and Khanaybari, Kowriarchar, Horipur, and Narayanpur in Daudkandi upazila.

District Agriculture Extension Department sources said seedlings of aman paddy, vegetables and jute on about 1,800 acres of land in those areas were damaged totally or partially due to the flood.

Almost 36 educational institutions, located on low laying areas and shoals, remained unofficially closed as the premises went under water. Thousands of weavers of the areas became jobless passing hard days without food.

Our correspondent from Gaibandha reported that onrush of water from upper catchments of the Teesta, Karotoa and Brahmaputra basins and unceasing rainfall since Friday deluged a vast tract of area in seven upazilas of Gaiabndha district inundating many houses.

Water level in four river basins continued to swell at all points. The River Ghagot rose by 24cm, Brahmaputra by 10cm, Teesta by 8cm, and the Karotoa by 5cm during the 24 hours preceding last night.

Fresh cracks developed along newly constructed Baguria counter embankment along the western bank of the Brahmaputra and three more cracks surfaced along the town protection embankment by the River Ghagot.

With the rising water level, erosion of the banks of the Brahmaputra intensified at Baguria, Chirakuthi, Analer Chara, and Udakahli under Gaibandha Sadar and Fulchhari upazilas. Moreover, a 100 feet stretch of Singra embankment under Fulchhari upazila was devoured by the rising Jamuna in the last three days.

Nearly 150 dwelling huts were washed away by the surging water of the Brahmaputra rendering 300 people homeless at Ratanpur and Kalasonaer Char under Fulchhari upazila.

Our staff correspondent from Rajshahi reported that swelling water and erosion of riverbanks started to wreak havoc on the banks of the Padma in Rajshahi city and Bagha upazila while a vast tract of low lying areas of the district and its adjoining Natore and Chapainawabganj were flooded following torrential rain of the last several days.

The Padma swelled by some 241cm in the last 5 days submerging many small shoals. However, the river was flowing at 15.41 metre height, 3 metres lower than the danger level yesterday.

The riverbanks were eroded at Talaimari and Tangon areas around the city causing housing problems for slum dwellers. Several hundred people of ward no 17 and 18 in the city became marooned.

The erosion of the banks of the Padma took a serious turn at Bagha upazila where major portions of three villages — Chalkrajapur, Jotnashi and Laxminagar — got washed away.

During a spot visit to the villages yesterday, the villagers said standing crops of paddy and jute on some 2000 bighas of land went under water in only three days.

A building of a private primary school in Laxminagar village was declared abandoned as it is on a piece of land facing erosion. Students of the school have been attending classes under the open sky in the courtyard of the headmaster’s house.

About 400 hectares out of 930 hectares of cultivable lands in Chalkrajapur village, 160 hectares out of 230 hectares of land in Laxmipur village, and 120 hectares of land in Jotnashi village were inundated.

Our Sirajganj correspondent reported that the flood situation in five upazilas and Cholon Beel area deteriorated yesterday, as incessant rain and onrush of water from upstream swelled the Jamuna and its tributaries further.

About 30,000 people in around 120 villages covering different shoals and Cholon Beel areas were marooned.

Water Development Board sources said about 35 more new villages in Belkuchi, Kazipur, Sirajganj Sadar, Chowhali and Shahjadpur upazilas were affected by the flood. Vast parts of the main structures of two spurs on the western bank of the Jamuna at Enayetpur and Meghai collapsed again, although WDB workers under the supervision of the army are throwing sacks filled with sand and bricks there to protect the spurs from the erosion.

The fisheries department sources said about 2000 ponds in greater Cholon Beel area were inundated by a flash flood that might cause a loss of about Tk 1 crore.

District Agriculture Extension Department sources said newly transplanted aman paddy, vegetables and Jute on about 1,200 hectares of land were damaged due to the flood.

Meanwhile, many people of the shoals and low laying areas took shelter on different highlands, railway lands and educational institutions.

District Civil Surgeon Office sources said the flood affected people have been facing crisis of drinking water since the beginning of the flood. Drinking unhygienic water, most of the people especially children and the elderly are being affected by different water-borne diseases like diarrhoea, dysentery and skin infections.

Meanwhile, 200 people of different flood affected areas were affected by diarrhoea and they were admitted to different health complexes, the sources said.

When contacted, Ibrahim Khalil, deputy commissioner of Sirajganj, said relief and rehabilitation programmes will be launched soon after they get an estimate of the affected people.