Rain wrecks havock

Heavy rains for over two hours from 11.15 AM brought life to a standstill in the capital until in the night on Tuesday.
The capital witnessed unprecedented traffic jams on the streets and lanes.
Severe water logging caused further miseries to commuters.
It took hours for the school goers to return home.
Thousands of people remained stuck up on the roads for hours as public transports and private cars carrying
them stood stationery.
Residents from different corners of the capital said that they had to wad through up to waist deep water.
After long waits commuters were seen getting down from buses standing in long queues unable to move ahead.
Hundreds of cars and auto rickshaws developed engine failures as water got into their exhaust system and it further aggravated the traffic jam.
Driver faced extra problems in steering vehicles unable to stay away from submerged potholes.
DWASA said quoting the Met Office that at least 40 mm of rains in 90 minutes from 11.15 AM caused the havoc.
Streets and lanes almost throughout the capital witnessed serious water logging.
The traffic department of Dhaka Metropolitan Police blamed DWASA’s inaction for the streets remaining under water for hours.

Clockwise from top left, people and vehicles make their way through a submerged road at Dhanmondi ; passengers protect themselves with umbrella from getting wet in rain inside a bus at Kakrail in Dhaka; people move through submerged road at Jatarpur in Sylhet city while an ambulance goes out of order on a submerged road at Bijoy Sarani in the capital after downpour caused inundation in cities on Tuesday. — Sanaul Haque, Indrajit Ghosh, Sourav Losker and Focusbangla photo

WASA officials said that the delay in draining water out of the capital was caused as the rivers flowing by it were in spate.
Residents faced serious problems in taking patients to hospitals.
‘It took an ambulance over four hours to take my mother-in-law from Gabtoli to Dhaka Medical College Hospital,’ said Saidur Rahman.
Business executive Ahsan Habib told New Age that he got down from a BRTC bus which remained standing for long at Matshya Bhavan and walked down to his office at Karwanbazaar.
Parents were seen carrying children on their laps or shoulders wadding through knee high water to bring them back home from schools.
Mustafa Kamal who had to carry his daughter on his lap to bring her home at Shantinagar from the school at Kakrail said that the tall talking mayors of the capital seemed to have forgotten their pledge of addressing the recurrent problem of water logging within three months of elections.
Rickshaw and rickshaw van pullers and auto rickshaw drivers made brisk business charging extra fare.
In the afternoon, thousands of people avoided stationery buses and returned homes from their places of work on foot enduring water logging and other hassles.
Banker Md Sohel said he was walking down to return home at Azimpur from Gulistan as rickshaw pullers demanded exorbitant fare and the buses remained stuck at the same place for long.
DMP additional commissioner (traffic) Khandakar Golam Faruque told New Age at the night that the severe traffic jam was caused by water logging and the resultant engine failure of many vehicles.
He said that despite repeated efforts to contact WASA officials they remained non responsive.
WASA public information officer Zakaria Al Mahmud said stagnant water would be flashed out by Wednesday morning using pumping stations at Dholaikhal, Kalyanpur, Rampura and at Kamlapur.

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