City drenched in downpour
Many parts of the city remained submerged under water for hours yesterday amid heavy rainfall from the morning exposing the capital's poor drainage system.
The water logging caused immense sufferings to commuters, especially office-goers and students in the morning, as traffic congestion resulted in huge tailbacks on city streets.
“It took me an hour and a half to reach my office at Farmgate from Adabar in Mohammadpur,” said Ilias Ali, an official of a private firm.
“I had to change a three-wheeler I boarded as it could not make way through the water. I took a bus and yet, I got partially drenched,” Ilias told The Daily Star.
The most affected areas were Shewrapara, Mirpur-10, Shantinagar, Khilgaon, Jatrabari, parts of Pallabi, Rajarbagh, East Rajabazar, Karwan Bazar, Panthapath, Shahbagh and other low-lying spots.
Bangladesh Meteorological Department recorded 29 millimetres of rainfall in Dhaka city from early morning to 12:00 noon yesterday.
Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) claimed that though some areas were submerged under water, the rainwater receded in a short time.
“In some localities the water might have taken longer to recede. That is because the water level in rivers is high right now and so it takes time for the rainwater to recede,” said SDM Quamrul Alam Chowdhury, deputy managing director of Wasa.
Some entry points of drains are congested with solid waste blocking the passage of rainwater.
“We have damaged the natural water drainage system as canals, and now we have to depend on the artificial ones,” Chowdhury said, adding that most cities in the world had retention systems in place but not Dhaka.
However, Wasa is working to improve the existing drainage system and has set up pumps at some points of the city to help get rid of excess rainwater, he said.
Srimangal upazila in Moulvibazar witnessed the highest rainfall in the country at 115 mm till 3:00pm yesterday.
Most parts of the country, except for some districts in Chittagong division, saw moderate to heavy rainfall, an official of the met office said.
“The heavy rainfall is the result of the active monsoon over Bangladesh and moderate elsewhere over north Bay of Bengal,” he told The Daily Star.
Moderate to heavy rain accompanied by temporary squally winds are likely to occur at most places of Dhaka, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Khulna, Barisal, Chittagong and Sylhet divisions today, according to the forecast of the met office.
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