Deaths, waterlogging and suffering

Aftab Mahmud, a resident of Chandgaon Residential Area, left home at 8:30am amidst incessant rain.

He found the roads submerged in waist-deep water. With no vehicles available, he trudged through the filthy water for an hour to reach Muradpur, just two kilometres from his residence. This is where this correspondent met him.

Still seven kilometres away from his office, a frustrated Aftab said, "I don't know how I will go to my office. I have an emergency meeting."

Aftab's plight was shared by thousands of port city residents, particularly office-goers.

The torrential rain, influenced by Cyclone Remal, submerged Chattogram's low-lying areas yesterday, including but not limited to Chawkbazar, Bahaddarhat, Badurtala, Kapasgola, Shulakbahar, Katalganj, Muradpur, GEC Intersection, CDA Avenue, Bakalia, Agrabad, Halishahar, Chattogram Port Residential Area, Sholashahar Rubi Gate, Pathorghata, and Chandgaon.

Even the road in front of the mayor's residence in Bahaddarhat was flooded, leaving him stranded.

The flooding rendered motorised vehicles almost useless in these areas. Meanwhile, two people died.

An unidentified youth died after falling into Kalabagicha canal near Asadganj Dried Fish hub. When locals took him to Chattogram Medical College Hospital, the duty doctor declared him dead, said OC Bablu Kumar Paul of Pathorghata police station.

With him, at least nine people died by falling into open drains of Chattogram since 2017.

Besides, Saiful Islam Hridoy, 26, died when a wall collapsed on him at an under-construction site in Baizid Bostami at 8:30am, said OC Sanjoy Kumar Sinha of Baizid Bostami Police Station.

According to the met office, the city recorded 242mm rainfall in last 24 hours till 9:00pm yesterday. The rainfall was 148.4mm between 6:00am and noon, and 132mm between 6:00am and 9:00am. They explained that the high tide starting at 8:00am exacerbated the situation, as tidal water combined with heavy showers led to widespread flooding.

Many who stayed back were not spared either, as water entered into the ground floor of residential buildings and tin-shed houses.

"Rain may continue for the next 24 hours," said MHM Mosaddek, forecasting officer of Chattogram Met Office.

Meanwhile, many government offices and educational institutions, including Government Commerce College in Agrabad, PDB Sub Divisional Office in Halishahar Rampur, and the Water Development Board Bhaban in Bahaddarhat, were submerged.

Commercial banks on the ground floor in Agrabad Commercial Area and the road in front of the World Trade Centre also went under knee-deep water.

Educational institutions were closed and used as cyclone shelters, with all examinations postponed.

CCC Chief Conservancy Officer Latiful Haque Kazmi said their teams are working to drain the water quickly.

In Chawkbazar, shop-owners like Saddam Hossain faced significant losses as water damaged valuables worth Tk 2 lakh. "I am trying to save the rest of my valuables," said Saddam.

Residents in areas like West Bakalia DC Road were seen bailing out water from their homes.

Anjan Paul, a local, said, "Every year during the monsoon, we face this problem. Four mega projects have been going on to address waterlogging in the city but we do not get any benefit from those."

Despite four ongoing projects worth Tk 14,388.74 crore by three government bodies to address waterlogging, residents have seen no relief.