More than 2 lakh people marooned in 11 dists
Flooding of low-lying areas in northern and central districts worsened on Tuesday as the Brahmaputra, Jamuna and Padma rivers marked a further rise because of heavy rainfall, according to the authorities concerned.
More than two lakh people in chars and low-lying areas along the banks of the rivers have been marooned, local representatives said, adding that people in the worst-hit areas had taken shelter in school buildings and on embankments, roads and other high places.
Standing crops on vast areas have been inundated while erosion of rivers has taken a serious turn in many places in the affected districts.
The situation is likely to aggravate as the rivers are likely to swell further, the Bangladesh Water Development Board’s flood information centre in Dhaka said on Tuesday.
The flood-affected districts are Kurigram, Gaibandha, Bogra, Sirajganj, Jamalpur, Rajbari, Faridpur, Shariatpur, Madaripur, Munshiganj and Manikganj.
The government has asked the authorities concern to monitor the flood situation and take action to protect people, the state minister for water resources, Mahbubur Rahman, told New Age on Tuesday evening.
A Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre bulletin said the Brahmaputra, Jamuna, Padma and Meghna rivers would swell further in a day or two.
The Brahmaputra swelled by 13cm and it was flowing 26cm and 28cm above danger mark at Chilmari and Bahadurabad at 6:00am Tuesday, the centre said.
The Jamuna was flowing 33cm, 19cm and 11cm above danger mark at Sirajganj, Bahadurabad and Aricha.
The Padma was flowing 55cm above danger at Goalunda and 65cm above at Bhagyakul. The Dharala also swelled further.
In the Meghna basin, the Surma, flowing 31cm above danger mark on Monday, marked a further of 1cm on Tuesday.
The Arialkhan and Kushiyara rivers, however, fell at all points.
Sufferings of the people marooned in more than 150 char villages at Chilmari, Roumari, Rajibpur and Ulipur in Kurigram, Phulchhari and Saghata in Gaibandha, Sariakandi and Dhunat in Bogra and district headquarters, Kazipur, Belkuchi, Chowhali and Shahjadpur in Sirajganj intensified, according to news agencies Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha and bdnews24.com.
About 50,000 people of 10,000 families have become marooned and 2,821 families homeless because of river erosion in a week in Kurigram, according to the district administration.
Several thousand hectares land with standing crops including vegetable and aman paddy have also been submerged.
The Department of Agricultural Extension said standing crops on 3,289 hectares of land — including transplanted aman on 3,125 hectares — had so far been inundated in Gaibandha and 3,400 hectares in Kurigram, according to the Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha.
The agriculture office said flood water had submerged crops on 7,811 hectares of land, including 7,570 hectares with aman crop.
The deputy director at the Department of Agricultural Extension, Mohammad Sirajul Islam, said if flood water would recede fast, the farmers would be able to plant the local variety of aman. This year, 108,800 hectares of land was brought under transplanted aman cultivation against the target of 109,428 hectares.
The executive engineer of the Water Development Board in Jamalpur, AKM Shamsul Karim, said new areas were being gradually flooded.
The upazila nirbahi officers of Madarganj, Dewanganj and Bakshiganj in Jamalpur said some low-lying areas were submerged but the situation was still under control.
The Islampur upazila nirbahi officer, Manirul Islam, said six out of the 12 unions bordering the River Jamuna were submerged.
At least 25,000 hectares of crop land in Madaripur were submerged after a 150-metre stretch of the Madaripur-Srinadi-Rajair road had collapsed on Sunday because of the strong current of the River Arialkhan.
The executive engineer of the Water Development Board in the district, Akhil Kumar Biswas, said the board had nothing to do in this regard as the road stretch that collapsed was under the jurisdiction of the Local Government and Engineering Department.
The Madaripur LGED executive engineer, Ashraful Islam, said, ‘I visited the area and I will request the authorities concerned to take appropriate steps.’
Around 500m stretch of the flood protection dam and 8km of the dirt ring dam stand threatened because of the strong current.
At least 200 shrimp enclosures in Bagerhat were washed away by the River Bhairab as a dyke collapsed.
At least 150 families of Radhaballabh and Katua in the Bagerhat district headquarters were affected.
The Water Development Board’s executive engineer in Bagerhat, Bazlur Rashid, said a stretch of about 20 metres of the dyke had collapsed on Friday night because of strong current from the upstream.
