Waterlogging ruins Ctg residents’ day

Residents and commuters in low-lying areas of the port city suffered a lot due to waterlogging after incessant downpour yesterday.

“Whenever it rains, roads in the area go under knee-deep water at the least,” Abdul Halim, a resident of KB Aman Ali Road in West Bakalia, told this correspondent as as he waded through filthy water.

“The city corporation failed to solve this. Now we hear that the Chattogram Development Authority (CDA) has been implementing a mega project to address waterlogging since 2018, but we have not seen any improvement,” he said. “It seems, our suffering will never end,” said a disgruntled Halim.

He said he could not find transportation, as motorised vehicles stopped plying on this road while the rickshaw pullers demanded a very high fare.

Water entered many buildings in the area. Some students of Bakalia Adarsha Girls’ High School were seen walking back home in the rain, as their usual mode of transportation -- auto-rickshaws -- were not available.

Low-lying areas including Chawkbazar, Bakalia, Muradpur, Kapasgola, Bahaddarhat, Agrabad, Halishahar, Chandgaon and Shulakbahar areas went under knee-deep water.

Chattogram Met Office recorded 94.4mm rain in 24 hours till 3pm yesterday.

“Heavy to moderate rain may continue in the next 24 hours in Chattogram as seasonal wind is active in this area,” said met officer Shrikanta Kumar Basak adding that  “The Chattogram Port has been asked to hoist cautionary signal-3.”

Contacted, Chattogram City Corporation’s Chief Engineer Sudip Basak said as CDA has been implementing a project to address waterlogging, CCC is not prioritising it.

CDA in cooperation with Bangladesh Army launched a Tk 5,616 crore mega project in April last year, aiming to mitigate the city’s waterlogging problem which is supposed to be completed in June 2020.

Contacted, project director Lt Col Md Shah Ali said they could not work in full swing in rainy season. “We are waiting for the dry season. We expect a significant improvement will be visible in the next rainy season and people will be relieved,” he said.