Staff Reporter:
Some low-lying areas in the port city of Chattogram were submerged due to heavy overnight rainfall, causing immense suffering to residents, particularly office-bound people, on Thursday.
From Wednesday night until Thursday morning, torrential rainfall left knee-deep water in areas, including Chawkbazar, Muradpur, Kapasgola, Bahaddarhat, Agrabad, Katalkhola, WASA intersection, and GEC Intersection.
Many commuters were forced to wade through flooded streets to reach their destinations on Thursday morning to join offices on time.
Fazlul Rahman, a businessman, said he had to walk from Muradpur to Natun Bridge due to stagnant water. It was extremely difficult and time-consuming.
Echoing Fazlul, a resident from Chawkbazar’s kitchen market area, Abdul Hamid said water began to rise around 9am, reaching waist level within a short time on Thursday.
As the streets of those areas were submerged, rickshaw and CNG-run autorickshaw drivers charged extra fares, taking advantage of the waterlogging.
Commuter Mamunur Rashid said he had to pay Tk80 instead of the usual Tk50 to go to his office in Muradpur from Gate No-2.
Blaming poor drainage for the recurring problem, a resident from the Muradpur area alleged that every monsoon, they face the same misery but authorities fail to implement a permanent solution.
According to the Chattogram Met Office, 81mm of rainfall was recorded in 24 hours till Thursday noon.
Meteorologist Mahmudul Alam said the monsoon is active and rain may continue for the next two to three days, forecasting a landslide and urging people living in risky hilly pockets to relocate to safer areas.
Chattogram City Corporation Mayor Shahadat Hossain said water accumulated in several areas overnight but started to recede by Thursday afternoon.
