Staff Reporter :
Dhaka has turned into a large lake, as roads and lanes in several localities were submerged in knee-deep water following heavy downpour for forth-consecutive day on Wednesday.
The situation has apparently made the city dwellers helpless as civic bodies have failed to come up with actions to remove the city’s water-logging.
As the situation did not improve till 5pm yesterday, the Local Government and Rural Development Minister ordered the Dhaka WASA to clear the water-logging within next three hours.
According to met office, Dhaka received around 190mm of rainfall in the past 94 hours (From 6.00am Monday day to 5.pm Wednesday).
The incessant rains, which started around 8:00 am on Monday, gave a brief relief in the evening of the same day only and started poured again at night. Since then, heavy to sporadic showers have drenched the city intermittently.
On Wednesday, the downpour inundated several areas of Dhaka city, including Dhanmondi, Dhaka University, Azimpur, Rayerbazar, Farmgate, Green Road, Mirpur, Mouchak, Malibagh, Motijheel, Gulistan, Doyaganj, Gandaria, Sutrapur, Banglabazar, Sayedabad, Jurain and Jatrabari.
Bangladesh Secretariat at Abdul Gani Road and Manik Mia Avenue in front of Parliament were also submerged in knee-deep water.
Although heavy downpour disrupted normal life of the city, commuters using the important link road were the worst sufferers as many of the roads submerged under three-four feet of rainwater.
In the morning, long queues of vehicles were seen in most of the city roads as the motorists took a cautious mood in driving their vehicles under the submerged roads forcing the commuters to remain stranded on roads for hours.
Roads submerged under water also forced to stop many four-stroke CNG Auto rickshaw midway creating further traffic chaos.
“It took more than two hours to reach my office at Farmgate from my Mirpur residence. “Usually it takes half an hour”, Shah Alam, who works for a private firm, told The New Nation.
Because of continued rains, the authorities enforced electricity and gas shutdown making people further helpless.
“The authorities enforced frequent power cut along with gas shutdown in the morning for the last several days making our life measurable,” Jesmine Khan, a housewife at Dhanmondi, told The New Nation.
“Incessant rains caused power failure in several parts of the city as rainwater made transformers defunct,” a DESA official told The New Nation.
Meanwhile, mayors of Dhaka City Corporations visited sports of waterlogging and expressed their helplessness in improving the situation overnight.
While visiting a spot of water-logging at Songargaon crossing in the capital on Wednesday afternoon, Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Annisul Huq sought suggestions from the people on how to solve the problem in the capital.
The Mayor asked the people around him: “Would you please tell me what is the solution to the water-logging ?”
The Dhaka Met Office has forecast more rains for the next 24 hours and has warned of landslides occurring in the hilly regions throughout Bangladesh.
Dhaka has turned into a large lake, as roads and lanes in several localities were submerged in knee-deep water following heavy downpour for forth-consecutive day on Wednesday.
The situation has apparently made the city dwellers helpless as civic bodies have failed to come up with actions to remove the city’s water-logging.
As the situation did not improve till 5pm yesterday, the Local Government and Rural Development Minister ordered the Dhaka WASA to clear the water-logging within next three hours.
According to met office, Dhaka received around 190mm of rainfall in the past 94 hours (From 6.00am Monday day to 5.pm Wednesday).
The incessant rains, which started around 8:00 am on Monday, gave a brief relief in the evening of the same day only and started poured again at night. Since then, heavy to sporadic showers have drenched the city intermittently.
On Wednesday, the downpour inundated several areas of Dhaka city, including Dhanmondi, Dhaka University, Azimpur, Rayerbazar, Farmgate, Green Road, Mirpur, Mouchak, Malibagh, Motijheel, Gulistan, Doyaganj, Gandaria, Sutrapur, Banglabazar, Sayedabad, Jurain and Jatrabari.
Bangladesh Secretariat at Abdul Gani Road and Manik Mia Avenue in front of Parliament were also submerged in knee-deep water.
Although heavy downpour disrupted normal life of the city, commuters using the important link road were the worst sufferers as many of the roads submerged under three-four feet of rainwater.
In the morning, long queues of vehicles were seen in most of the city roads as the motorists took a cautious mood in driving their vehicles under the submerged roads forcing the commuters to remain stranded on roads for hours.
Roads submerged under water also forced to stop many four-stroke CNG Auto rickshaw midway creating further traffic chaos.
“It took more than two hours to reach my office at Farmgate from my Mirpur residence. “Usually it takes half an hour”, Shah Alam, who works for a private firm, told The New Nation.
Because of continued rains, the authorities enforced electricity and gas shutdown making people further helpless.
“The authorities enforced frequent power cut along with gas shutdown in the morning for the last several days making our life measurable,” Jesmine Khan, a housewife at Dhanmondi, told The New Nation.
“Incessant rains caused power failure in several parts of the city as rainwater made transformers defunct,” a DESA official told The New Nation.
Meanwhile, mayors of Dhaka City Corporations visited sports of waterlogging and expressed their helplessness in improving the situation overnight.
While visiting a spot of water-logging at Songargaon crossing in the capital on Wednesday afternoon, Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Annisul Huq sought suggestions from the people on how to solve the problem in the capital.
The Mayor asked the people around him: “Would you please tell me what is the solution to the water-logging ?”
The Dhaka Met Office has forecast more rains for the next 24 hours and has warned of landslides occurring in the hilly regions throughout Bangladesh.
