Floods to prolong till mid-Sept

Flood-hit people will continue to suffer a few more days as the floods in low lying areas of 11 districts will not wane until second week of September, said the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (ffwc).

The water levels of the Jamuna and the Padma will continue to rise for at least two more days before receding, if it does not rain further in the upstream India, it said.

"But the flood water will not recede from all the flood affected areas until the second week of September," Arifuzzaman Bhuiyan, the executive engineer of the ffwc.

The flood situation in 11 districts, including Kurigram, Gaibandha, Jamalpur, Bogura, Pabna, Sirajganj, Tangail, Manikganj, Rajbari, Faridpur and Shariatpur, will worsen as the water levels of the two rivers will increase today, said the ffwc bulletin issued yesterday. 

However, the water level of the upper Meghna will decrease today, they added.

Out of 109 water-monitoring stations in the country, water levels of 68 stations are increasing while in 19 stations the water is flowing above danger level, the bulletin said.

Since the floods hit a week ago, people have been suffering from crises of food, drinking water and fodder for their cattle, as the local administration is yet to provide any support in most of the affected areas.

The water level of the Brahmaputra increased by 5cm and it was flowing 49cm above danger level (23m 70cm) at Chilmari point in Kurigram yesterday at 9:00am.

Fresh areas of the river basin spanning seven upazilas of Kurigram continue to be flooded as the water level keeps rising.

Milon Islam, chairman of Thanahat Union Parishad in Chilmari upazila, told The Daily Star that water from the Brahmaputra started flowing into new areas of the union since Wednesday night.

Soleiman Munsi, 65, said he has been marooned for the past seven days, adding that he and others have been facing a crisis of food and drinking water

"We are more worried about our cattle and poultry. Some of my poultry has even washed away. And as the grassland has been submerged, we are struggling to raise and feed our cattle."

In Tangail, the overall flood situation deteriorated as the Jamuna was flowing 57cm above the danger mark at Porabari point yesterday.

Waters on Jhenai, Dhaleswari, Bangsi and Louhajang were also flowing above the danger levels, said officials of Water Development Board.

Over one lakh people, who lived on riversides and in low-lying areas, have been suffering as six out of 12 upazilas in the district were flooded, district administration sources said. 

Different crops, including transplanted aman paddies, on 920 hectares of land in eight upazilas of the district were inundated, officials of the Department of Agriculture Extension said.

Shahidul Islam of Bhuapur upazila said, "We are suffering immensely but we haven't gotten any support from anyone so far."

Asked, Dilip Kumar Saha, district relief and rehabilitation officer in Tangail, said 20 tonnes of rice were allocated for people at the four worst-affected upazilas till Wednesday. The local administration will distribute the rice among the listed victims.

In Manikganj, the water of all the internal rivers of the district, including Dhaleshwari, Kaliganga, Ichhamati, Gazikhali, Kantaboti, is increasing.

At least 50 thousand people of Daulatpur, Shibalay, Harirampur and other upazilas have been marooned.

Croplands, business establishments, schools and roads are at the risk of being engulfed by the Padma, Jamuna, Kaliganga, Dhaleswari as erosion has taken a serious turn in the upazilas.

(Our correspondents from Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Tangail and Manikganj contributed to the report.)