Sagar Biswas :Incessant downpour since Thursday afternoon to late evening disrupted normal life in the capital city Dhaka while the low-lying areas remained almost submerged for hours, causing immense sufferings to the people.Usually, the city becomes unlivable even if there is a light rain as more than half of the city goes under water, the roads turn into cannels and the city takes a look of an isolated island. The scenario was not different yesterday!Due to incessant rainfall, caused by the depression in the Bay of Bengal, the people shortened their business activities and locked them behind the doors, though it was a busy working day, the seventh day of holy month Ramzan. The home goers and students, particularly the examines, were worst sufferers as a small number of buses, mini buses and auto-rickshaws were on the roads, causing scarcity of transport.In fact, the commuters found their transports under knee-deep water in many city roads. Several motorised vehicles, including CNG-run three-wheelers were seen stranded on the waterlogged roads for hours due to technical fault.Passengers of the rickshaws and CNG-run auto-rickshaws had a terrible time as they charged many times higher than the usual fares. Several people were seen waiting in the rain for hours to get a transport in different parts of the city.The rain also created severe traffic gridlock in the city. The overall situation became more hazardous, as the sewerage system failed to control surge of water. The quantity of rain fall in Dhaka was 79 mm since 9:00pm yesterday. Met officials, however, expressed apprehension of more rain in the next few hours.The latest bulletin of Met office said that light to moderate rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty wind is likely to occur at most places over Rangpur, Rajshahi, Khulna, Barisal, Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet divisions with moderately heavy to very heavy falls at places over the country in next 24 hours till 6pm on Friday [today]. Due to strong monsoon over North Bay, heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to occur at places over Dhaka, Khulna, Barisal, Rajshahi, Chittagong and Sylhet divisions during next 24 hours. Landslide may occur at places over the hilly regions of Chittagong division, the Met officials added. Meanwhile, the rainfall caused water-logging when most parts of Dhaka’s main thoroughfares including Motijeel, Dilkhusha, Malibag, Mouchak, Shanti Nagar, Bijoy Nagar, Shahbag, Outer Circular Road, Manik Mia Avenue, Mirpur Road,, Bijoy Sarani, Darus Salam Road, Rokeya Sarani, Mirpur-1, Mirpur -11, Pallabi, Airport Road, Banani, Gulshan and several other areas.The continuous downpour forced the people to remain stranded in their houses and working places in many areas. Not only that, the traders at different markets had to keep their shops closed as rain water entered the shops damaging goods. In many areas, the makeshift iftari shops and other roadside establishments were forced to close down due to rain water. The scenario was all the same in the city’s kitchen markets, where it was almost impossible to buy any good as the shops were submerged. “I live in Dhanmondi, normally 35 minutes away from my office at Motijheel; but I get out from my office due to rain about one and half an hour before the office time ended,” said Rahman Mustafiz, an official of Rupali Insurance. “The heavy downpour not only created severe traffic gridlock, but also shaped a hazardous situation as the sewerage system failed to control surge of water. Most of my colleagues faced trouble to reach home before Iftar,” he added.The residents of Journalist Housing Society [Sangbadik Abasik Elaka] in the city’s Mirpur-11 area suffered a lot due to water logging. The newly constructed Purabi-Kalshi road in Mirpur also went under water causing immense suffering to the commuters and forced them to use the alternative roads in many cases. Echoing the same, Mosaddek Hossain, a resident of Pallbi, said that he faced serious problem due to water logging.Due to heavy rainfall, the authorities suspended all normal activities in the Chittagong Port, and all fishing boats and trawlers over North Bay have been advised to proceed with caution till further notice, officials said.
