Desperation spread among people rendered homeless by floodwaters triggered by monsoon rain in several parts of the country, with victims struggling for food, shelter, pure drinking water and medicine as hundreds of villages becoming cut off from the rest.
On Thursday, floods started swamping new areas in the Munshiganj, Manikganj, Chandpur, Shariatpur and Bhola districts and already victims are scrambling-often in waist-deep to neck-deep water-to reach dry land.
As low-lying areas Munshiganj and Manikganj districts are going under floodwaters, it is feared that floodwaters may also grips the capital Dhaka.
As the Teesta Barrage Authorities have opened all gates of the barrage at Dalia point, it is apprehended that the flood situation will aggravates further.
While many low-lying areas of 13 districts including Jamalpur, Sylhet, Moulvibazar, Sunamganj, Nilphamari, Kurigram, Nilphamari, Bogra, Lalmonirhat, Sirajganj, Tangail, Bandarban, Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar remain under waters, flood could affect five new districts-Munshiganj, Manikganj, Chandpur, Shariatpur and Bhola.
Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya said this at a briefing on the flood situation at his office at Secretariat in the city yesterday.
“Around 6.5 lakh under 54 upazilas in 13 districts became the victims due to the monsoon flood,” he said.
The floodwaters have also destroyed their houses and washed away crops lands and trees.
Besides, many establishments including educational institutions have also been devoured by the rivers.
Meanwhile, water level at 63 rivers stations, monitored by Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre, have marked rises and 20 stations recorded falls.
Among the 90 monitored water level stations, 12 are flowing above danger levels, a bulletin issued by FFWC said on Wednesday.
The Brahmaputra-Jamuna and Ganges-Padma rivers are in rising trend, while the Surma-Kushiyara rivers are in falling trend.
The Brahmaputra-Jamuna rivers and Ganges-Padma rivers are likely to continue rising in next 36 hours.
The Surma and Kushiyara rivers are likely to fall in next 12 hours. The overall flood situation in Gaibandha, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Sirajganj and Jamalpur districts has worsened further following the gushing water from the upstream and incessant rains.
The floodwaters have inundated fresh areas of the four districts, halting academic activities at hundreds of educational institutions.
According to our correspondents and agencies, the water levels of all the rivers, including Brahmaputra, Teesta, Dharla, Jamuna and Dudhkumar in the three districts continued to rise due to the onrush of water and heavy downpour.
The flood hit more than one lakh people in four upazilas of Lalmonirhat, over 1.7 lakh people of 250 villages under five upazilas of Kurigram, more than one lakh people in Sirajganj district and one lakh inhabitants in Jamalpur.
In Lalmonirhat, over one lakh people of the Teesta basin were trapped in floodwaters.
At least 36 villages of 16 unions under Hatibandha, Kaliganj, Aditmari and Sadar upazilas remained under water for the past four days.
The water of the Teesta River was flowing 30 cm above the danger level at Kulaghat point while five cm lower from the red mark at Doani point on Wednesday morning.
Thousands of families were marooned under floodwaters as embankments in Kutirpar area in Aditmari upazila broke down. Water development board Dalia division Executive Engineer Mostafizur Rahman said the flow of water has decreased slightly as India closed 10 gates of its Gojaldoba Barrage. To control the water, the Teesta Barrage Authorities have opened all gates of the barrage at Dalia point, according to sources at the local office of Bangladesh Water Development Board. The flood-affected people were suffering much for lack of pure drinking water, sanitation, food and shelters.
State Minister for Social Welfare Ministry Nuruzzaman Ahmed has distributed relief goods among 400 flood victims of Char Bairati area this morning. But most of the sufferers in 63 chars got no government relief, many of them claimed.
In Kurigram, fresh areas went under water due to the increase in water levels of all the rivers, including the Brahmaputra, Teesta, Dharla and Dudhkumar.
The Brahmaputra was flowing 32 cm above the danger level at Chilmari point while the Dharala 25 cm above the danger mark at the Bridge point.
More than 1.7 lakh people of over 250 villages, including chars of 35 unions, under Ulipur, Chilmari, Roumari, Rajibpur, Nageshwari and Sadar upazilas were hit hard by the flood.
The scarcity of food and pure drinking water has turned acute in the flood-affected areas.
Waterborne diseases were spreading fast in the flood-hit areas while no relief or medicine reached the victims yet.
More than 150 educational institutions were shut down following the flood, locals said, adding that 771 hectares of cropland were inundated.
Deputy Commissioner of Kurigram Abu Saleh Mohammad Ferdous Khan said some 2250 tonnes of rice and Tk 5 lakh in cash were allocated for the flood-affected people. “All preparations have been taken to face the flood situation.” he said.
In Sirajganj, the flood situation in five upazilas-Kazipur, Shahzadpur, Belkuchi, Chouhali and Sadar – has taken a serious turn following the rise in water level of the Jamuna River, worsening the woes of the flood-affected people.
Fresh areas went under water as the Jamuna water was flowing 63 cm above the red mark at 9:00 am Wednesday.
Several hundred acres of cropland were inundated by the floodwater. In Jamalpur, six unions of Islampur, Dewanganj, Madarganj and Sarishabari upazilas newly went under water as the Jamuna River was flowing 78 cm above the danger level at Bahadurabad Ghat point.
Besides, 77 hectares of seedbeds, 133 hectares of Aus paddy and 449 hectares of vegetable fields were inundated by the floodwaters in Islampur, Dewanganj and Sarishabari upazilas, said Abu Hanif, training officer at the local Department of Agricultural Extension office.
The local administration has, meanwhile, allocated 130 tonnes of rice, Tk 2.2 lakh in cash and 2,000 dry foods for the flood-hit people in four upazilas of the district.
77 medical teams have been formed so far, said Civil Surgeon Dr Md Mushair-ul-Islam (Ratan) adding that a team is working in each union. District Education Officer (Secondary) of Jamalpur Mokhlesur Rahman said second terminal examinations have been postponed at 29 high schools and madrasas in six upazilas of the district.
Moreover, some 119 government primary schools were declared shut down in the six upazila for flood waters, said district primary education officer Md Shahidul Islam.
In Gaibandha, a total of 518 flood affected families of four upazilas in the district have taken refuge in 17 shelter centres till last night around 9 pm on Wednesday as the water level of Brahmaputra river rose.
Local Water Development Board officials said the water level of the Brahmaputra, the largest river of the country, has been continuing to rise for few days last due to onrush of hilly waters from the upstream.
In last 24 hours till Wednesday the river marked sharp rise by 17 cm and was flowing 55 cm above its danger level at Fulchharighat point of the district inundating char areas and river basins of Sundarganj, Sadar, Fulchhari and Shaghata upazilas.
As the homesteads and houses of many people living in chars and river basin areas went under flood water, they have taken refuge in flood shelter centres and nearby on flood control embankment with domestic animals and poultry birds.
Abdus Salam Jakir, chairman of Kamarjani union parishad of Sadar upazila, said 76 families of different chars have taken shelter yesterday in Kamarjani Flood Shelter Centre built by Swiss Red Cross and Bangladesh Red Crescent Society.
District relief and rehabilitation officer AKM Idris said a total of 70,000 people of 17,925 families of the upazilas had been marooned till Tuesday.
As many as 518 flood affected families have already taken shelter in 17 centres in four upazilas as of Wednesday at 9 pm and relief materials would be provided to them.
The Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief allotted 225 tonnes of rice and TK 15 lakh in cash for the flood victims and those were being distributed to them on urgent basis, he added.
