The flood situation in the northern districts has worsened, with the Brahmaputra river crossing the danger level (DL) on Wednesday night, officials said on Thursday.
Water from the rising river flooded vast areas of Gaibandha district and was threatening to inundate other districts in Rangpur division, as well as Jamalpur district. Water levels in other rivers, such as the Jamuna, Meghna, Dharla, Teesta and the Padma, were also rising alarmingly and this situation was likely to continue for the next 72 hours, the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) said in a bulletin on Thursday.
As of 6 am on Thursday, the Jamuna was flowing 9 cm above the DL at Bhadurabad. Similarly, the Dharla was 18 cm above the red mark at Kurigram and the Teesta recorded a rise of 2 cm at Dalia.
According to officials of the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), the Brahmaputra was flowing 29 cm above the DL, Teesta 35 cm, Karatoa 40 cm and the Ghagot by 23 cm during the past 24 hours ending at 6am.
With the rise of water level of the Brahmaputra, river basin areas in Gaibandha district’s Sundarganj, Sadar, Fhulchhari and Saghata upazilas were flooded and standing crops, particularly jute and summer vegetables, were inundated on vast tracts of land.
The Brahmaputra has eroded several areas on the river’s western bank, including Chandipur, Kapasia, Kamarjani, Gidari, Urya, Gozaria, Saghat and Holdia unions of the district, trapping thousands of people. Lack of adequate relief materials and shelter has worsened the situation for the victims. Many of the flood victims have taken shelter in the nearby flood control embankment with their belongings, cattle and poultry. Officials are on alert to protect the embankment from damage, BWDB executive engineer Rezaul Mostafa Asafuddowla said.
Due to the unabated erosion by the river, the Helencha Primary School, South Kabilpur Primary School, Char Krishnamoni Primary School and the Kauabadha Primary School located on the river bank in Fulchhari upazila are facing the threat of being washed away.
Our Lalmonirhat correspondent reports that the situation in the district has worsened with some new areas being inundated. The river basin areas of Aditmari, Hatibandha and Lalmonihat were the worst hit. Heavy rush of upstream water from India has compounded the problem, with around 30,000 people being marooned in the district. The flood situation has worsened in seven upazilas of Kurigram district due to incessant rain and onrush of water from the hills, feeding the rising Brahmaputra, Dharala, Teesta and Dudhkumar in the last 24 hours.
At least 25,000 people have been marooned in low-lying areas of Nageshwri, Bhurungamari, Ulipur, Chilmari, Roumari, Rajibpur and Sadar upazilas. Hundreds of houses were damaged and vast tracts of cropland inundated.
Our Thakurgaon correspondent says that the flood waters have damaged over 5,000 houses and submerged many roads in the district. Train services were disrupted as areas around Kujishahar were under water.
Flood-hit people who have taken shelter in different schools in Sadar alleged that they were not getting adequate reliefs. However, district deputy commissioner Mukhesh Chandra Biswas said at least 70 tonnes of rice and Tk 2.5 lakh have been distributed among the victims.
-With The Independent input
