Just 30 to 40 minutes of heavy rain has once again caused waterlogging across Chattogram city. The morning rain left several streets and low-lying areas under water, leaving people who had ventured out on urgent work — and day labourers — in severe distress even on a holiday.
Heavy rain began in Chattogram at around 8:30 am on Friday (19 June). The downpour, which lasted about 30 to 40 minutes, submerged Chawkbazar, Katalganj and other nearby low-lying areas.
The heavy rain that started at about 8:30 am lasted around 40 minutes. Afterwards, knee-deep water — and waist-deep water in places — collected in Chawkbazar, Katalganj and surrounding areas.
On the ground, several roads in the Chawkbazar and Katalganj areas were seen to flood quickly in the heavy rain. Many vehicles became stuck midway because of the standing water, so passengers took longer to reach their destinations and faced hardship along the way. Many pedestrians were seen wading through knee-deep water.
Masud Farhan, a resident of the Katalganj area, said they had been suffering from waterlogging year after year. Despite one development project after another, he said, there had been no significant change in the situation.
Rickshaw-puller Foyez Ahmed said the waterlogging had made it hard to drive a rickshaw, and that their earnings were also down.
Md Naim, who works for a Chattogram tour-and-travel firm, said vehicles were unavailable because of the water on the roads. “I am forced to wade through dirty water,” he said, adding that many drivers were charging extra fares to take advantage of the situation.
At Probartak intersection, long one of the main waterlogging spots, comparatively less water was seen to collect this time. Those concerned said the situation had improved somewhat because of ongoing work on the Hijra canal under a waterlogging-mitigation project. Even so, with the surrounding low-lying areas and connecting roads under water, the overall distress had not eased.
Mahbubul Alam, an official of the Chattogram weather office, said 6 millimetres of rainfall was recorded in Chattogram up to 9 am on Friday, but that heavy rain in a short time had left water standing in low-lying areas. The sky could remain overcast through the day, with more intermittent rain.
City residents complain that weak drainage, slow re-excavation and repair of canals, and waste-management problems leave various parts of the city waterlogged after even a little rain. Many expressed anger that the situation had not improved despite projects worth crores of taka.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report