Staff Reporter :
Rains caused by cyclone Roanu swamped many parts of Dhaka city on Saturday, and disrupted public life and movement of transports.
So, the commuters had no second option, but to wade through the dirty water, folding trousers up to knees, with shoes in their hands.
Watching human sufferings, rickshawpullers and CNG run auto-rickshaw drivers were charging extra fare.
Sufferings of the people intensified in those areas where construction works still continue on roads.
Footpaths became muddy and slippery for abrupt disposal of soil and other construction materials.
The Met Office, meanwhile, recorded 43 mm of rain in the last 24 hours till 9am on Saturday
The waterlogging swept Central Shaheed Minar, Old Dhaka’s Nazimuddin Road, Urdu Road, Gulistan’s Nattya Mancha, Shantinagar, Malibagh and other areas of the city.
Public transports, the key mode of communication that carry office and school-goers to and from Chawkbazar and Begum Bazar, could not ply on the route because of knee-deep water logging. The situation was identified in New Market, Dhanmondi, Jigatola and Mohammadpur areas.
The residents and commuters on Shewrapara-Kazipara Road and Kalshi in Mirpur had to face serious trouble due to waterlogging.
Many city residents said that a large gridlock developed from New Market to Asad Gate, nearly half of the Mirpur Road. The situation worsened so much so that the shopkeepers in New Market had to pump out water from inside the market. Waterlogging was also found in front of the Shahjalal International Airport for which traffic congestion was seen. Roads in Mirpur, Shyamoli, and Motijheel were also waterlogged resulting into huge traffic jam.
The rainfall submerged Sukrabad area of Dhanmondi, Banani, Bashundhara and many other parts of the capital.
Many residents accused the government for not taking the waterlogging problem seriously. “Regimes have changed, but the waterlogging problem remains. Now, we are waiting to see what the two Mayors plan to do about it,” Saifullah, a city resident, told The New Nation.
