Low-lying areas in city’s eastern part flooded

The Padma flows over a road near Balasur intersection at Srinagar in Munshiganj yesterday as the river water crossed the danger level there.Photo: Anisur Rahman

Many low-lying areas in the eastern part of the capital went under floodwater yesterday and more areas are likely to be inundated in the next couple of days as rivers around the city started flowing over danger levels from Thursday.
"Low-lying Areas in Dohar and Nawabganj are already under water. More areas are likely to be inundated if the Balu, the Shitalakhya, the Turag, the Dhaleswari and the Tongi canal keep swelling," said Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) Assistant Engineer Arifuzzaman last evening.
Fed with water from upstream, water levels of all major rivers--the Padma, the Brahmaputra-Jamuna and the Meghna--started to inflate yesterday inundating fresh areas mainly in the northern and central part of the country. This marooned thousands and affected Aman crops.
Rivers will continue to swell for the next two-three days and more areas in Bogra, Jamalpur, Sirajganj, Tangail, Munshiganj, Manikganj, Rajbari, Faridpur, Madaripur, Shariatpur, Chandpur and Dohar and Nawabganj of Dhaka, Shibganj and Sadar upazilas of Chapainawabganj are likely to be inundated by the next 48 hours, FFWC report said.
"The water level will eventually come down and the flooding will not last long," Arifuzzaman said.
Meanwhile, two children--Seraj, 9, and Mehedi, 7--drowned in floodwater at Chalanbeel under Tarash upazila in Sirajganj yesterday.
Many flood-affected people took shelters on embankments and are suffering due to scarcity of food and drinking water, our correspondents reported.
Fresh areas in Gaibandha town went under floodwater as gushing water breached a flood-protection embankment at Kuthipara.
A large crack has developed on the Brahmaputra flood-control embankment at Kathalmari, reports our correspondent in Gaibandha. Water Development Board (WDB) is trying to stop the seepage by dumping sandbags.
At least 10,000 dwellings went under knee- and waist-deep water. The marooned people took shelter on flood-control embankments at Syedpur and Balashi in Fulchari upazila.
Our correspondent in Sirajganj reports: The Jamuna was flowing 54cm above the danger mark yes terday and about 20,000 people in the district are marooned. The district administration opened up 14 flood shelters in Sirajganj Sadar.
Even though district relief officer Abul Khayer said they released 83 tonnes of rice as relief, visiting different areas the correspondent found out that most of the affected people did not cget any relief materials.
Due to strong currents in the Jamuna, many flood-protection embankments and eight levees have become vulnerable to erosion. These may collapse any time, authorities concerned said.
Around 15 metres of a flood-protection embankment on the Jamuna at Talukdarpara of Sariakandi washed away yesterday morning, reports our staff correspondent in Bogra.
About 150 metres of the same embankment gave in to the surging water Wednesday marooning over 3,000 families.
WDB Bogra Circle Superintendent Engineer Sheikh Abdul Momin said they have repaired the 15-metre section and will start repairing the 150-metre section soon.
The homeless took shelter in schools, public institutes and houses of relatives. Army personnel distributed rice and other relief materials to around 300 affected families.
Quoting Department of Agriculture Extension sources, a correspondent in Lalmonirhat reports: Flooding affected about 20,000 farmers and damaged crops on around 1,300 hectares of land. Crops on 720 hectares of land were destroyed.
The damage to crops is estimated around Tk 7 crore.
Our staff correspondent in Rajshahi reports: The Padma has left only 25 yards of land between Bangladesh and India at Char Khanpur of Paba. There will be no land there between the two countries if the Padma devours this piece of land.
Members of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) at Char Khidirpur border outpost say that the outpost is also likely to be eroded by the Padma.
"The major problem is that the border pillar-164 is at stake as the river is now flowing very close to the border pillar," said a BDR official.
Acting Commanding Officer of BDR Battalion 37 Maj Yasin said there will be no land at this border point if the river erodes the 25 yards of land.
Around 2,000 people of Bagha upazila are homeless for over two weeks while hundred others in the char areas are facing food shortages. So far, 12 people died of snakebites. Two others died in boat capsize in Rajshahi.
Our correspondent in Satkhira reports: The overall flood situation was improving in nine villages under Gabura union in Shyamnagar upazila as locals were able to reconstruct a collapsed embankment at Khalshibunia on the Kabodak. The embankment collapsed Thursday.
The flooding destroyed 4,495 houses and affected 15,000 people in the area.