A night of horror for Dhaka residents, many areas still underwater
Even 14 hours after the rain stopped, many areas in Dhaka, including Azimpur, New Market, Bangshal Road, Old Dhaka, Jurain, Badda, Mirpur-12, Mirpur-2, Dakshin Khan, are still underwater
"I had to wait two and a half hours for transport in front of my office and was able to reach home at 2am," Yasmin Sultana, an employee of a private company, told The Business Standard while sharing her experience of last night.
"There was waist-deep water in the Badda area, but I managed to get a CNG autorickshaw after waiting till 11:30pm from 9pm," she said.
Dhaka residents experienced a night of horror as the city witnessed 113 millimeters of rain within only three hours, from 9pm to 12am yesterday (21 September).
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Many residents could not find a transport home at night and were standing on the side of the roads. The very few transport available on the road demanded three to four times the regular fare.
"I left the office around 9pm when the road in front of the office was already underwater. I got on a rickshaw but got stuck in the Moghbazar signal for half an hour. After reaching Noyatola and Modhubag, the situation got even worse. The roads there were completely inundated," said a private job holder Sharmin Akhter.
"The number of vehicles which shut down on the road was higher than the ones moving. It took me two hours to reach home in Rampura, maybe the only place which was not inundated yesterday. I paid Tk300 for a rickshaw ride I usually pay Tk80 for," she added.
Sheikh Sabbir, another person on the road at around 10:45pm on Thursday, said, "There was 1 to 2 feet of water in places in Shantinagar. Some cars, including seven to eight CNG autorickshaws and a microbus, broke down on the road and caused huge traffic. Many people also stood on the roadsides due to lack of transport."
The excessive rainwater flooded roadside shops, and shopkeepers at Elephant Road were seen taking the water out using buckets dead at night.
Many people missed their buses and trains for planned trips ahead of the weekend. Many people could not even reach home and decided to stay at the house of someone they knew, as reaching home was like going through a battlefield.
Waterlogging, along with broken down vehicles on the road, worsened the traffic conditions on the road to the extent that a one-hour distance took two or even three hours to reach.
Social media became engulfed with news of people either stuck in traffic or reaching home after hours of toiling.
"I'm stuck at Green Road for more than half an hour now. The car will turn into a boat if I proceed further," one of the Dhaka residents wrote on Facebook at 10:48pm last night. He later commented that he was able to reach home at 2:30am.
Meanwhile, many others posted mentioning their car stopped working middle of the road due to excessive rainwater, causing further suffering.
"There are knee-deep water inside my car and the car is not moving either. Rain is getting more intense," another resident wrote on Facebook last night.
However, traffic congestion was the least of people's woes as four people, including three of a family, died after being electrocuted from a live wire in the accumulated rainwater on the road.
Residents of the city mourned the dead while questioning how safe the city was. One Facebook user wrote, "What has this city come to. Anyone could die any moment here."
Waterlogging is not a new issue in Dhaka, but the extent of the rain left no scope of respite even 14 hours after the rain stopped.
Some areas in Dhaka, including Azimpur, New Market, Bangshal Road, Old Dhaka, Jurain, Badda, Mirpur-12, Mirpur-2, Dakshin Khan, and many other areas are still under water. Water has flooded the ground floor of houses and shops in most areas.
However, Dhaka South City Mayor Fazle Noor Taposh had earlier this year said despite heavy rains, a target has been set to drain the rainwater in Dhaka South area within 15 minutes in the next monsoon.
Imran Hossian, a student of Dhaka College, left around 11am on Friday to go to Newmarket. He said there was knee-deep water in front of the residential hall he stays in.
"I was forced to pay Tk150 as rickshaw fare to travel this short distance," he added.
Upon reaching the New Market kitchen market, he saw that water had entered different shops in the market. Most of the shops in this area are closed.
Meanwhile, water pumps installed throughout the city to drain the water in times like these did not come to much use.
Mentioning that five pumps are currently operational in Kalyanpur to alleviate water accumulation in Dhaka North areas, pump operator Masum said, "The water level at the pump area rose to 5 metres, surpassing the danger level. If the heavy rainfall continues, the task of pumping and draining the water will be challenging."
Meteorologist Dr Muhammad Abul Kalam Mallick told TBS that no rainfall was recorded in Dhaka from 12:00am to 12:00pm on Friday. However, the intensity of rainfall may increase in the next few days.
He said rain is likely in most places of Rajshahi, Rangpur, Mymensingh, and Sylhet divisions.
It will rain for the next three days, and the amount is likely to increase, he added.
He also said from 28 September, the amount of rainfall will likely increase in almost all parts of the country, including Dhaka.
Meanwhile, rain is likely with or without thunder in Dhaka and nearby regions today, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department said in its six-hour weather bulletin at 1pm.
