Hundreds homeless as rivers swell

Flash floods caused by opening of floodgates of Farakka Barrage in India have rendered hundreds of families in Bangladesh homeless until Thursday.

Dozens of shoals in northern, western and central regions have been inundated by the rising waters of the Padma, the Meghna and their tributaries since India had opened the gates Sunday.

The rivers were flowing with unprecedented strong current, causing rapid erosion in many areas along the way and hampering river communications, particularly on Paturia-Dulatdia ferry service that connects the capital with 17 south-western districts.

Flood forecasters predicted the Padma and the Gorai would continue to swell over next three days deteriorating flood situation Pabna, Kushtia, Magura, Rajbari, Manikganj, Faridpur,  Madaripur, Shariatpur and Munshiganj.

The Department of Disaster Management’s disaster report said that nearly 22,000 families in Kushtia, Rajshai, Shariatpur and Rajbari were affected by the floods, with about 2,260 of the families losing their homes and other properties to erosion until Wednesday.

‘At least 2,000 families, mostly on shoals, and 500 farmers have suffered losses because of the flood,’

Ummul Banin Dooti, Upazila Nirbahi Officer, Lalpur, Natore, told New Age.

She said that many shoals in three unions of the upazila — Ishwardi, Bilmaria and Durduria — were inundated by flood waters with vast vegetable fields washed away.

Many of the affected people left their homes for shelters on the embankments or at relatives’ house.

The administration distributed 190 packets of relief materials and 18 tonnes of rice among the affected people, she said.

The government consider inundating of shoals, which lay outside embankment protection, during monsoon a normal phenomenon and refuse to recognise it as flood.

There were hundreds of shoals where millions of people live and suffer floods that often miss to grab public attention because of lack of government interest.

In the last floods that came in July after India opened its floodgates at Gajaldoba Barrage, the government waited to call it flood until embankments were breached.

The Transparency International Bangladesh in a report released in July said the government was considering flooding of shoals in monsoon as normal incident and it endangered properties and lives which could have easily been saved.

New Age correspondent in Manikganj reported that strong current on River Padma lengthened travelling time for ferries carrying vehicles across the river, leading to congestion tailing back three kilometres on both sides of the river.

Hundreds of vehicles, including trucks carrying vegetables and other goods, remained stranded on either sides of the river for hours, he said.

BIWTC floating workshop executive engineer at Paturia Subal Chandra Sarker said their old ferries struggled to move against strong current with one or the other going out of order every day.

The river station authorities arranged for passenger carrying vehicles crossing the river first as the queue of the good laden trucks got longer every hour.

BIWTA deputy assistant engineer Shah Alam feared ferry operation on Paturia-Daulatdia route might be suspended because of erosion.

He said they had to suspend operation at two of the six jetties at the river crossing station.

He said that severe erosion was taking place at Goalonda in Rajbari.

New Age correspondent at Islamic University in Kushtia said that about 50,000 people have been marooned in the district.

According to Water Development Board’s local office in Kushtia, new areas got inundated on Thursday after an embankment at Shelaidah in Kumarkhali collapsed Wednesday.

On Thursday afternoon, the Padma River was flowing 12cm above the danger level at Kushtia.

Low lying areas in Chilmari, Ramkrishnapur and Dualatpur unions also got submerged by waters.

Kushtia Upazila Project Implementation Officer Saidur Rahman said that 10 tonnes of rice and 1,400 packets of dried food were distributed among the affected people.

New Age correspondent in Pabna said flood waters inundated 12 unions in three upazilas — Ishwardi, Sujanagar and Pabna Sadar, leaving 12,000 families marooned.

‘People are suffering after their homes had gone under water,’ said Nuruzzaman Biswas, chairman, Ishwardi upazila. 

Pabna deputy commissioner Kabir Mahmud said farmers who cultivated winter crops were counting huge losses due to floods.

The FFWC said the Padma, the Meghna, and the Gorai were flowing above the danger mark at four river gauging stations at the Hardinge Bridge, Goalonda, Kamarkhali and Chandpur.

The FFWC recorded the country’s highest rainfall of 109mm in 24 hours ending Thursday morning at Chhatak.

The Met Office predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall across Khulna, Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions in 24 hours from 6:00pm Thursday.

They also predicted rain at many places in rest of the five divisions during the same time.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net