News Desk : dhakamirror.com
Rainfall of 151 millimeters from 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. yesterday inundated many areas in the town of Sylhet, shattering city authorities’ lofty claims about monsoon preparedness.
The city came to an abrupt halt due to the rain, prompting a wave of criticism of the city corporation’s expensive projects. Hundreds of people took to the streets, blocking main roads and demanding quick action to tackle the ongoing problem of waterlogging.
As areas like Pathantula, Akhalia, Dargah Mahalla, and many others found themselves submerged within an hour of the rainfall, the consequences of this inundation were felt by people from all strata of life.
Golzar Ahmed, the proprietor of Popy Library, highlighted the damage caused to books worth lakhs due to the flooding.
“Even with mild rainfall, the market (Raja Mansion) gets inundated due to the overflow of drains, and no one takes responsibility for addressing the situation,” he said.
According to official documents, the city corporation had already spent Tk 313 crore on two projects by December 2019, aimed at resolving the persistent waterlogging problem. Additionally, a project with a budget of Tk 1,228 crore is currently underway and is expected to be completed by this December.
Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury, the Awami League mayoral candidate for the upcoming Sylhet city polls on June 21, criticised the lack of planning behind the city corporation’s projects.
This reporter couldn’t reach Mayor Ariful Haque Choudhury and SCC Chief Engineer Nur Azizur Rahman for comments despite repeated attempts.
– With The Daily Star input
