Heavy rain has disrupted normal life in the town of Chuadanga and surrounding areas. With 167 millimetres of rain recorded in just five hours and 20 minutes between pre-dawn and morning, most of the district’s low-lying areas were submerged, bringing severe hardship to daily life.
According to the local met office, 167mm of rain was recorded in Chuadanga between 3:40am and 9am on Friday.
Jaminur Rahman, a meteorologist at the Chuadanga met office, confirmed the figure.
The sky clouded over from dawn and torrential rain set in, a visit to the area showed. Within a short time, the downpour submerged the town’s main road and the internal roads of several neighbourhoods. With the drainage system’s limited capacity unable to clear the water quickly, many areas were left waterlogged.
Day labourers, rickshaw pullers and low-income working people have been hit hardest. With the rain disrupting normal work, their earnings have suffered.
A produce seller at Chuadanga’s Boro Bazar said the rain had kept buyers away since morning. Water had even entered the wholesale market, he said, raising fears of losses for traders.
With fewer public and private vehicles on the roads, people who had to go out for urgent needs faced higher fares and added difficulty.
Agriculture is also feared to face a mixed impact. Agriculture officials said that while the heavy rain helps preparations for Aman cultivation and the retting of jute, farmers could suffer losses if low-lying vegetable fields are submerged. Prolonged waterlogging could damage chillies, brinjal and other seasonal crops.
The municipal authority said work to clear the drains had begun to ease the waterlogging, but that a return to normal could take time if the rain continued.
The district administration, meanwhile, advised people not to go out in the bad weather unless necessary and to stay in safe places during lightning.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report