Heavy overnight rain left large areas of Chittagong city under water on Sunday causing immense sufferings for the city dwellers.
The waterlogging, which came on the first working day of the week, left commuters wading through knee-deep to waist-deep water to reach their destinations.
Since morning, low lying areas of the city, including Agrabad’s CDA area, were seen flooded with waters as high as knee-deep to waist-deep.
An aerial view of a flooded road beside a flyover in Chittagong’s Muradpur area is pictured on Sunday, June 6, 2021 Focus Bangla
These areas include Hallishahar, Agrabad Access Road, Rampura, Saraipara, Muradpur, Gate No 2, Oxygen Intersection, Chawkbazar, Bahaddarhat, Bakolia, and Gosaildanga, among others.
Important roads in the Jamal Khan, Boro Pole, Choto Pole, Patenga, EPZ, Prabartak Intersection, Sholoshohor, and Dampara areas were also flooded, reports UNB.
Waterlogging was also witnessed at the city’s biggest wholesale market in Khatunganj, as well as in the Asadganj and Chaktai areas, flooding most shops in these markets.
The Bahaddarhat-Muradpur main road was also flooded by the overnight rain, causing disruptions to traffic and pedestrian movement.
People move through knee-deep water amid rain in in Chittagong’s Muradpur area on Sunday, June 6, 2021 Focus Bangla
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Most city dwellers failed to reach their workplaces on time as the availability of transports on the streets was thin due to the downpour and waterlogging.
Many office-goers were seen wading through the flooded streets, either on foot or through rickshaws or vans.
Several residents of Chittagong city told UNB they were disappointed with the continuing waterlogging problem despite assurances from the authorities that it would be addressed.
A bus and a rickshaw ply a submerged road in Chittagong’s Muradpur area on Sunday, June 6, 2021 Focus Bangla
Tajul Islam, a bank official, said: “I couldn’t go to my office as I got struck in knee-deep water for hours.”
He added that a long-term plan is desperately needed to develop the city and mitigate the public's suffering.
Abdur Rashid, a resident of the Bakolia area, said: “It seems that the authorities have no headache about public suffering.”
According to the local Met Office, 30.8 mm of rainfall was recorded in Chittagong from 9am on Saturday to 9am on Sunday, and the rain is likely to continue for a few more days.
Soibal Das, Councillor of Jamalkhan Ward, told UNB: “A project is being implemented to end the waterlogging problem. Rainwater cannot pass through the canal as the project has not been completed yet. As a result, the low-lying areas of Jamalkhan Byline, Dewanji Pukur, Gitanjali Colony, Askar Dighi Par and Kazir Deuri were flooded.”
He added that there was no scope to avoid the responsibility and they were thinking about how to quickly mitigate the suffering of the people.
