10 lakh people marooned, 18 die as flood engulfs 20 districts

At least 18 people were killed in three districts and more than 10 lakh people were marooned as fresh flood engulfed 20 districts on Sunday while major rivers continued to rise because of onrush of water from India and heavy rains.
Three platoons of Army were deployed in Rangpur, Dinajpur and Thakurgaon on request of the deputy commissioners concerned to rescue marooned people and repair flood protection dams, according to an Inter Services Public Relation Directorate release. 
‘The situation has warranted deployments of troops to repair Dinajpur town protection dam and rescue marooned people,’ said Rangpur divisional commissioner Kazi Hasan Ahmed.
He said that army was also deployed to rescue people in Thakurgaon on Saturday as more areas continued to be inundated in the northern districts.
At least 13 people were killed in floods in Dinajpur, deputy commissioner Mir Khairul Alam confirmed. 
He, however, could not elaborate the identities of the deceased. 
The flood bypass road on the Teesta Barrage in Lalmonirhat broke as because of opening of all the 54 gates of Gajoldoba Barrage on the Teesta River in India and onrush of water from India coupled with heavy rain in the past five days, said Bangladesh Water Development Board Dalia Division executive engineer Mustafizer Rahman. 
Over 10 lakh people in Thakurgoan, Dinajpur Kurigram, Rangpur, Lalmonirhat, Bogra and Jamalpur were already marooned while hundreds of schools were closed and un-estimated standing crops were washed away or submerged by rising floodwater that also disrupted road and rail communications. 
Water Development Board officials said that situation might worsen in the next three-four days if the major rivers and their braches kept rising.
In Lalmonirhat, bodies of four people, who went missing Sunday morning, were recovered from the Dharla River at Sadar upazila Sunday afternoon.
The deceased were identified as Mozam Ali, 45, his wife Asma Begum, 38, Abdul Hanif, 35, and his son Redoy, 9, of East Baruia village in Lalmonirhat.
Lalmonirhat police station officer-in-charge Uday Kumar Mondal said that police recovered the bodies from the river and sent them to the hospital morgue for autopsy. 
Kularghat union chairman Idris Ali said that he came to know that the victims were drowned while trying to save their house from the onrush of water.
In Thakurgaon, a housewife drowned. She was identified as Rehana Parvin, 32, of Pirganj upzilla.
Elderly people in Kurigram and Lalmonirhat said that they had not seen such a flood for past 20 years. They said the situation reminded them of the floods in 1988 and 1998 that hit hard the whole country. 
The ministry of disaster management and relief cancelled all leaves for their officials and employees to meet the situation. 
Local people, however, alleged that the affected people were hardly receiving relief and food.
The fresh floods caused by onrush of water from India along with heavy rainfall engulfed the northern and middle regions of the country and disrupted road communication and forced authorities to shut educational institutions in the past two days, said officials.
Major rivers continued rising 50cm per day and such trend might continue 
in the next three days, said Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre executive engineer Sazzad Hossain.
He said that rivers might continue rising until August 16 and flood in the northern-eastern regions might further worsen.
Within a day or two, the country’s middle regions which remain now at warning level might go under water, he said. 
The flood situation in the country’s north-eastern regions worsened marooning several lakh people, damaging standing crops and properties as almost all rivers were overflowing in Thakurgoan, Nilphamari, Dinajpur, Kurigram, Gaibandha, Jamalpur, Bogra, Sirajganj, Netrokona, Sylhet, Maulvibazar and Habiganj districts because of onrush of water from India and hilly water.
Rivers were flowing at warning level in Rajbari, Manikganj, Shariatpur, Gazipur, Barhmanbaria, Rajshahi, Sirajganj and Jessore, the flood forecasting centre said.
The fresh flood already inundated the country’s one third districts as the water level at some 77 points rose and was flowing above the danger marks at 25 point, the flood forecasting centre said.
The Brahmaputra-Jamuna, Ganges-Padma and Surma-Kushiyara rivers were rising and the Brahmaputra-Jamuna and the Ganges-Padma rivers might continue rising in the next 72 hours from Sunday morning.
The Surma-Kushiyara rivers were supposed to continue rising until this morning, according to the flood forecasting summery statement.
In Thakurgaon, more than 30 villages of different upazilas were inundated marooning over three lakh people in low-lying areas as Tangon, Senua, Tirnoi, Nagor, Sukh, Kulik, Vulli and Rosea river basins were flooded.
Thakurgaon water development board executive engineer Soriful Islam said that all the rivers were rising alarmingly and if the trend continued, another three lakh people would be marooned.
The rail communication on Dinajpur-Thakurgaon-Panchagarh route got snapped as the rail track went under water and rail communication of the three districts with other parts of the country was still cut off.
In Kurigram, about 200 villages, 300 shoals and islands were inundated and more than three lakh people were marooned in the fresh flood. Some parts of Kurigram-Bhurungamari road also went under knee-deep water.
In Lalmonirhat, over two lakh people of 30 unions of five upazilas––Patgram, Kaliganj, Hatibandha, Aditmari and Sadar––were marooned and 168 educational institutions in the district were closed for the flood. 
Lalmonirhat deputy commissioner Shafiul Arif said that flood situation in the district turned serious, leaving more than two lakh people marooned. 
In Rangpur, more than one lakh people were marooned and many houses and crop lands at seven unions of Gongachara upazila, and Kawnia and Pirgacha upazillas were submerged. Many schools remained closed as the flood-affected people took shelters at high places, including flood protection dams and roads.
Rangpur deputy commissioner Mohammad Waheduzaman said that 22,565 families were affected by the flood in the district. The administration was distributing dry food among the victims at Gongachra and Pirgacha upazillas and 100 metric tonnes of rice was distributed, he said.
In Bogra, over 30,000 people in Sariakandi, Sadar, Kutubpur, Kamalpur, Chandanbaish, Kornibari, Chaluabari, Bohail, Kajla and Hatsherpur unions were inundated due to rise of water in the Jamuna. 
In Jamalpur, about 75,000 people of 15 unions of Islampur and Dewanganj upazilas were marooned by the flood.
‘We are ready to stand beside the flood-hit people with necessary relief materials,’ deputy commissioner Ahmed Kabir said.
In Sunamganj, on-duty officer in flood control room of the Sunamganj district administration said that they distributed 13 tonne rice on Sunday among the affected people of seven upazilas. ‘Tk 10,000 was also distributed among the affected families of each union,’ he said. 
In April-May, early floods caused by onrush of water from India and heavy rains destroyed standing boro crops in the haor belt and other standing crops in 56 of the 64 districts.