BSS, Dhaka :
Though the Ganges-Padma rive is in the rising trend, the flood situation may improve in the country as all major rivers are likely to flow normal within the next four to five days, an expert told BSS on Friday.
“Water level in the Brahmaputra-Jamuna is
receding by 20 to 25 cm on an average in most places, meaning the river system will be normal within the next four or five days,” Executive Engineer of Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) Md Sazzad Hossain said.
“Although the Padma at Goalundo point is flowing above the danger mark by 106 cm, it will be flowing normal within the next few days,” he said.
The overall flood situation may improve significantly in the country as the trend of less rainfall is seen in Bangladesh and upstream regions of India, Sazzad added.
Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya on Friday said relief operations would be continued until floodwater recedes.
“We have sent adequate relief materials to the flood affected districts of the northern region to mitigate sufferings of the affected people,” he said while distributing relief materials among the flood-hit people on the premises of Shilpakala Academy in Thakurgaon.
Presidium Member of Awami League Ramesh Chandra Sen, MP, Yasin Ali, MP, Selina Jahan, MP, and Disaster Management and Relief Secretary Golam Mostafa and Director General of Department of Disaster Management Reaz Ahmed, among others, were present on the occasion.
Onrush of water has shown a receding trend in one of three major river basins in the upstream but continued to swell in the remaining two.
According to FFWC, the Brahmaputra in the north was receding but waters in the Ganges, covering the northwest, and Meghna basin in the northwest were still being inflated.
The water resources ministry, meanwhile, said 50 people died so far mostly from drowning as the rivers surpassed their bank lines inundating standing crops, households and other infrastructures.
The hydrologists, however, said the flow of waters from three sides in the upstream would inflate the riverbeds in the central region including Dhaka before being discharged in the Bay of Bengal inundating vast tracts, posing threats of infrastructure damages.
Experts feared the collapse of embankments could intensify the disaster as people feeling protected by such structures could suddenly be exposed to massive or deadly consequences.
“The crucial thing to be performed as preparedness to minimize the damage is to protect and properly maintain the flood protection embankments which are in place . . . Collapse of embankments could cause colossal damage,” leading water expert Professor Ainun Nishat warned.
Among the 90 monitored water level stations, 28 river stations are flowing above the danger level, a bulletin issued by the FFWC said here on Friday.
The Dharla at Kurigram, the Jamuneswari at Badarganj, the Ghagot at Gaibandha, the Karatoa at Chak Rahimpur, the Brahmaputra at Chilmari, the Jamuna at Bahadurabad, Sariakandi, Kazipur, Sirajganj and Aricha, the Gur at Singra, the Atrai at Baghabari, the Dhaleswari at Elasin, the Lakhya at Lakhpur, the Kaliganga at Taraghat, the Little Jamuna at Naogaon, the Atrai at Mohadebpur, the Padma at Goalundo, Bhagyakul and Sureswar, the Surma at Kanaighat, Sylhet and Sunamganj, the Kushiyara at Amalshid and Sheola, the old Surma at Derai, the Kangsha at Jariajanjail and the Titas at Brahmanbaria are flowing above danger level 29cm, 78cm, 50cm, 20cm, 40cm, 102cm, 100cm, 138cm, 138cm, 75cm, 56cm, 109cm, 112cm, 45cm, 52cm, 79cm, 65cm, 106cm, 42cm, 6cm, 68cm, 5cm, 20cm, 34cm, 43cm, 35 cm, 104 and 33 cm respectively.
In Rangpur, the flood situation improved further during the last 24 hours ending at 9am on Friday with continuous fall in water levels of the major rivers in the northern districts on the Brahmaputra basin.
“The situation is getting normal gradually in Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, Dinajpur and Rangpur districts where most of the displaced people returned homes while the situation is continuously improving in Kurigram and Gaibandha districts now,” said Divisional Commissioner Kazi Hasan Ahmed on Friday.
Relief activities have also been beefed up in the flood-hit areas of Gaibandha, Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, Rangpur, Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Sirajganj and Bogra districts on the Brahmaputra basin.
Meanwhile, overall flood situation further deteriorated in Gobindaganj and Palashbari upazials Gaibandha district as the water levels of Karatoa river have marked rise during the last 24 hours ending at 9 am on Friday.
Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) officials said water level of the Karatoa river rose by 14 cm during the period due to onrush of hilly waters from the upstream and was flowing 69 cm over its danger level at Katakhali Bridge point in Gobindaganj upazila.
A large number of people living in river basin areas of the upazilas have been marooned by flood and their sorrows know no bounds while crops on hundreds hectares of land particularly T-Aman paddy field, aman seed bed and summer vegetables, went under water making the farmers more worried about their crops, they said.
With continuous rise of water level in the river, Paschim Chowmatha, Kaiyaganj, and Kamarpara areas of Gobindaganj upazila had already gone under knee deep water.
The vehicular movements on Gobindaganj- Ghoraghat Road had been suspenced by Gobindaganj upazila administration as it went under waist deep water.
Mahbubur Rahman, executive engineer of BWDB, said the Flood Control Embankment on Karatoa river became more vulnerable at many points due to the pressure of the river water.
The condition of the dyke at Raghunathpur area in Gobindaganj upazila and Naleya, Tengra and Jaitulbala areas under Palashbari upazila was at high risk as a portion of the embankment collapsed there and the dyke might be washed away in the areas anytime, he also said.
The BWDB was trying to protect the vulnerable points of the dyke through dumping sand bags, he added.
Army personnel were working round the clock to protect the flood control embankment from any damage said deputy commissioner Gautam Chandra Pal.
bdnews24.com adds: Thousands of farm animals are facing a food crunch in flood-stricken Dinajpur district.
The crisis unfolded due to floodwaters submerging large swathes of grassy fields and around one-and-half metric tonnes of straw, said Abul Kalam Azad, district livestock official, on Friday. Almost 600,000 animals are suffering from the crisis. The numbers include 372,000 cows, over 200,000 goats, 11,000 sheep and hundreds of buffaloes. An urgent supply of 10,000 metric tonnes of animal feed has been released by the government, which is expected to reach the district in the coming couple of days, said Azad.
In Kurigram, Fulbari Upazila has suffered damages in flooding. As river banks eroded and floodwaters broke through the embankments, people scrambled to save their homes and belongings. Stories of losses now fill the air of the villages in Fulbari.
Abu Hossain, 60, said he was resting in his home at Chargorok Mondol village on Saturday afternoon when he heard a loud noise. “I was feeling sleepy lying on my bed when I heard people screaming outside. I ran to the road beside the embankment and saw a deluge headed our way.
Though the Ganges-Padma rive is in the rising trend, the flood situation may improve in the country as all major rivers are likely to flow normal within the next four to five days, an expert told BSS on Friday.
“Water level in the Brahmaputra-Jamuna is
receding by 20 to 25 cm on an average in most places, meaning the river system will be normal within the next four or five days,” Executive Engineer of Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) Md Sazzad Hossain said.
“Although the Padma at Goalundo point is flowing above the danger mark by 106 cm, it will be flowing normal within the next few days,” he said.
The overall flood situation may improve significantly in the country as the trend of less rainfall is seen in Bangladesh and upstream regions of India, Sazzad added.
Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya on Friday said relief operations would be continued until floodwater recedes.
“We have sent adequate relief materials to the flood affected districts of the northern region to mitigate sufferings of the affected people,” he said while distributing relief materials among the flood-hit people on the premises of Shilpakala Academy in Thakurgaon.
Presidium Member of Awami League Ramesh Chandra Sen, MP, Yasin Ali, MP, Selina Jahan, MP, and Disaster Management and Relief Secretary Golam Mostafa and Director General of Department of Disaster Management Reaz Ahmed, among others, were present on the occasion.
Onrush of water has shown a receding trend in one of three major river basins in the upstream but continued to swell in the remaining two.
According to FFWC, the Brahmaputra in the north was receding but waters in the Ganges, covering the northwest, and Meghna basin in the northwest were still being inflated.
The water resources ministry, meanwhile, said 50 people died so far mostly from drowning as the rivers surpassed their bank lines inundating standing crops, households and other infrastructures.
The hydrologists, however, said the flow of waters from three sides in the upstream would inflate the riverbeds in the central region including Dhaka before being discharged in the Bay of Bengal inundating vast tracts, posing threats of infrastructure damages.
Experts feared the collapse of embankments could intensify the disaster as people feeling protected by such structures could suddenly be exposed to massive or deadly consequences.
“The crucial thing to be performed as preparedness to minimize the damage is to protect and properly maintain the flood protection embankments which are in place . . . Collapse of embankments could cause colossal damage,” leading water expert Professor Ainun Nishat warned.
Among the 90 monitored water level stations, 28 river stations are flowing above the danger level, a bulletin issued by the FFWC said here on Friday.
The Dharla at Kurigram, the Jamuneswari at Badarganj, the Ghagot at Gaibandha, the Karatoa at Chak Rahimpur, the Brahmaputra at Chilmari, the Jamuna at Bahadurabad, Sariakandi, Kazipur, Sirajganj and Aricha, the Gur at Singra, the Atrai at Baghabari, the Dhaleswari at Elasin, the Lakhya at Lakhpur, the Kaliganga at Taraghat, the Little Jamuna at Naogaon, the Atrai at Mohadebpur, the Padma at Goalundo, Bhagyakul and Sureswar, the Surma at Kanaighat, Sylhet and Sunamganj, the Kushiyara at Amalshid and Sheola, the old Surma at Derai, the Kangsha at Jariajanjail and the Titas at Brahmanbaria are flowing above danger level 29cm, 78cm, 50cm, 20cm, 40cm, 102cm, 100cm, 138cm, 138cm, 75cm, 56cm, 109cm, 112cm, 45cm, 52cm, 79cm, 65cm, 106cm, 42cm, 6cm, 68cm, 5cm, 20cm, 34cm, 43cm, 35 cm, 104 and 33 cm respectively.
In Rangpur, the flood situation improved further during the last 24 hours ending at 9am on Friday with continuous fall in water levels of the major rivers in the northern districts on the Brahmaputra basin.
“The situation is getting normal gradually in Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, Dinajpur and Rangpur districts where most of the displaced people returned homes while the situation is continuously improving in Kurigram and Gaibandha districts now,” said Divisional Commissioner Kazi Hasan Ahmed on Friday.
Relief activities have also been beefed up in the flood-hit areas of Gaibandha, Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, Rangpur, Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Sirajganj and Bogra districts on the Brahmaputra basin.
Meanwhile, overall flood situation further deteriorated in Gobindaganj and Palashbari upazials Gaibandha district as the water levels of Karatoa river have marked rise during the last 24 hours ending at 9 am on Friday.
Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) officials said water level of the Karatoa river rose by 14 cm during the period due to onrush of hilly waters from the upstream and was flowing 69 cm over its danger level at Katakhali Bridge point in Gobindaganj upazila.
A large number of people living in river basin areas of the upazilas have been marooned by flood and their sorrows know no bounds while crops on hundreds hectares of land particularly T-Aman paddy field, aman seed bed and summer vegetables, went under water making the farmers more worried about their crops, they said.
With continuous rise of water level in the river, Paschim Chowmatha, Kaiyaganj, and Kamarpara areas of Gobindaganj upazila had already gone under knee deep water.
The vehicular movements on Gobindaganj- Ghoraghat Road had been suspenced by Gobindaganj upazila administration as it went under waist deep water.
Mahbubur Rahman, executive engineer of BWDB, said the Flood Control Embankment on Karatoa river became more vulnerable at many points due to the pressure of the river water.
The condition of the dyke at Raghunathpur area in Gobindaganj upazila and Naleya, Tengra and Jaitulbala areas under Palashbari upazila was at high risk as a portion of the embankment collapsed there and the dyke might be washed away in the areas anytime, he also said.
The BWDB was trying to protect the vulnerable points of the dyke through dumping sand bags, he added.
Army personnel were working round the clock to protect the flood control embankment from any damage said deputy commissioner Gautam Chandra Pal.
bdnews24.com adds: Thousands of farm animals are facing a food crunch in flood-stricken Dinajpur district.
The crisis unfolded due to floodwaters submerging large swathes of grassy fields and around one-and-half metric tonnes of straw, said Abul Kalam Azad, district livestock official, on Friday. Almost 600,000 animals are suffering from the crisis. The numbers include 372,000 cows, over 200,000 goats, 11,000 sheep and hundreds of buffaloes. An urgent supply of 10,000 metric tonnes of animal feed has been released by the government, which is expected to reach the district in the coming couple of days, said Azad.
In Kurigram, Fulbari Upazila has suffered damages in flooding. As river banks eroded and floodwaters broke through the embankments, people scrambled to save their homes and belongings. Stories of losses now fill the air of the villages in Fulbari.
Abu Hossain, 60, said he was resting in his home at Chargorok Mondol village on Saturday afternoon when he heard a loud noise. “I was feeling sleepy lying on my bed when I heard people screaming outside. I ran to the road beside the embankment and saw a deluge headed our way.
