Chattogram submerged amid incessant rains
Incessant rainfall for the last three days has turned Chattogram city into a flooded mess causing immense suffering for the city dwellers.
The local meteorological office recorded a baffling 237.7 millimetres (mm) of rainfall in the port city in 24 hours till 9am on Monday.
The downpour which started on Friday night is likely to continue, the Met Office warned.
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Almost all the city roads including Agrabad Access Road, Jamal Khan, Boro Pole, Choto Pole, Patenga, EPZ, Prabartak Intersection, Sholoshohor, and Dampara were flooded.
Low-lying areas including Hallishahar, Saraipara, Muradpur, Gate No 2, Oxygen Intersection, Chawkbazar, Bahaddarhat, Bakolia, and Gosaildanga have also been inundated among others.
Even City Mayor Md Rezaul Karim Chowdhury's Baddarhat residence has gone underwater, effectively washing away his tall claims of monsoon preparedness in the process.
Important establishments including hospitals and police stations have also been submerged, creating a sense of chaos and panic in the port city.
Commuters were seen wading through knee-deep to waist-deep water to reach their destinations Monday morning.
Hundreds of vehicles were stranded on city roads, reports our correspondent.
Nasima Begum, a resident of Katalganj, said, "It feels like I am under house arrest. There is water everywhere. I cannot go outside to buy daily essentials, let alone join office."
Sarwar Kamal, a resident of Badurtala area, said, "Our building is a few feet above the road level. Still, the ground floor of the building has sunk."
Due to waterlogging in Muradpur and Chandgaon sections of Baddarhat flyover in the city, a large number of vehicles are stuck on it.
Weather and climate researcher Mostafa Kamal Palash said that there is a possibility of heavy rain in Chittagong on Monday as well.
"Moderate rains are likely to continue till noon. Due to this, there is a danger of landslides," he added.
At least four people were killed and three others injured after rain-triggered landslides struck their houses in different areas of Chattogram on Saturday.
Waterlogging is an age-old problem in Chattogram.
Three organisations are implementing four projects at a cost of Tk10,921 crore to alleviate water logging in the city.
The projects have been going on for about five years. Till now, Tk4,339 crore has been spent on various works of the project.
Even after this, the city dwellers are not getting relief from the misery of waterlogging.
As usual, the City Corporation and the Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) are playing a game of pillow passing to shift the blame on each other.
