Flood waters have remained unchanged in the country’s northern region on Friday, raising the affected people’s woes. The river Jamuna in Bahadurabad and the river Dharla in Kurigram flowed above the danger level by 18 cm and 2 cm, respectively, at 6 am on Friday, according to a
Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) bulletin.The forecast said that the water level of the Brahmaputra and the Jamuna would not change, but it could rise in the rivers Ganga, Padma and Meghna. According to the FFWC, water level has increased in 46 river stations. However, 24 stations have showed a drop in the water level. Of the 73 monitored water level stations, one has been registered as steady. Abu Taher, executive engineer of the Kurigram Water Development Board, said that water level of the Dharla had gone down by 14 cm in the past 24 hours. “But the Brahmaputra has swelled by 2 cm and is flowing slightly below the danger level.” The flood situation in Kurigram has remained unchanged due to rain, he added.
Roads in Char areas were inundated, causing suffering to local people. However, thousands of flood-hit families in seven upazilas of the district have not received any aid from the district administration.
District Relief and Disaster Management division official Anwar Hossain said 250 chars of 36 Unions had been inundated by Dharla, Brahmaputra and Dudhkumar rivers.
“Almost 75,000 people have been marooned, while 1,047 families are rendered homeless,” Abu Taher said. The official also said no relief was provided as there were no allocations for them.
District agriculture department deputy director Pratip Kumar Mondal said almost 5,000 hectares of crops had been flooded in Kurigram. River erosion in different parts of the district has added to the flood-hit people’s misery. In Dinajpur, though the rivers in the district flowed below the danger level, almost 3,500 families have been stranded.
Even as the Punarbhaba flowed below the danger mark, it submerged low-lying areas, forcing people to take shelter in higher grounds.
Some 1,000 homes were under water in Rajarampur, Hatathpara, Shahargram, Dahagram, Khopra, Manikpara, Thanthania and Rasulpur of Biral Upazila, and no relief materials had reached the flood-affected people yet.
In Thakurgaon, though the flood situation has improved a little, people’s misery continued as they did not get adequate relief materials.
In Nilphamari, the water level has gone down, but the people faced acute shortage of food and portable water.
About 100 acres were under water and it might affect aman cultivation, district agriculture department sources said.
In Panchagar, too, the flood water receded, but flood victims alleged that there was no food and drinking water.
District administration sources said that Tk. 1 lakh and 35 tonnes of rice had been distributed among 1,000 families of eight unions in Debiganj upazila. Train services were yet to be resumed as the tracks are still under water. The flood water has also damaged seedbeds of many areas of the district.
-With The Independent input
