Chattogram Waist-Deep Floods Despite Tk 14,257CR Projects
Photo: Agamir Somoy
Continuous heavy rainfall has once again submerged large parts of Chattogram city, with waist-deep water accumulating on road number 1 in the Panchlaish residential area and similar conditions reported in Katalganj.
Life has been devastated by the rush of water, forcing many to abandon their homes for safer locations.
Mohammad Selim, a caretaker for a building in the Panchlaish residential area, said, “Power outages are frequent, and the generator fuel has run out. I was forced to wade through waist-deep water to reach a filling station for oil.”
He added that despite great difficulty in finding a rickshaw, even its seat was submerged in water.
Water flowed like a torrent through Urdu Gali in Chawkbazar, while waist-deep water remained stagnant in Hashmat Ullah Munshif Lane, Telipatti, Chawk Super Market, and Kapasgola.
Local residents added that although water did not enter his house, the entire surrounding area was submerged in waist-deep water. They noted that in some places, the current was so fierce that pedestrian movement decreased and vehicular traffic came to a halt.
Meanwhile, the Chattogram-Hathazari road was submerged, resulting in long traffic jams on both sides as vehicle movement ceased.
Commuters faced hours of delays, with knee-deep water on roads in the EPZ area and waist-deep water in the Agrabad commercial area.
Chandgaon Residential Area was also completely submerged. Abu Azad, an official of a private organization, took a full hour to travel less than one kilometer from road number 5 to the main road. The ground floors of many houses in the area were flooded, and nearby Faridarpara and Shamsherpara are entirely underwater.
Moreover, Abdul Latif Road in Shulakbahar and its adjacent areas remain submerged in waist-deep water.
On Wednesday, continuous rainfall flooded new areas, including CDA number one, City Gate, Hemsen Lane in Jamalkhan, the Nasirabad Women’s College area, GEC Intersection, Foy’s Lake, the Garib Ullah Shah Mazar area, and the Ispahani Rail Gate area.
Many locals have seen their furniture and essential belongings destroyed as water entered their homes. Some have abandoned their houses to seek refuge in relatively safer places.
Despite the implementation of four projects by the Chittagong City Corporation (CCC), the Chattogram Development Authority (CDA), and the Water Development Board at a cost of Tk 14,257 crore, the situation remains unchanged.
Although the majority of the work on these projects is complete, the city continues to submerge during heavy rain just as it did before, causing immense suffering for the general public.
Mayor Shahadat Hossain said, “This is a terrible natural disaster. If more than 400 millimeters of rain occurs in a single day, any city would be flooded, but that situation has not yet occurred in Chattogram. Without blaming any agency, the CCC, CDA, Water Development Board, and the Army’s Engineering Corps are working together in the field.”
CDA Chairman Belayet Hossain claimed that the majority of the work on the CDA’s mega-project for waterlogging mitigation is complete, and sluice gates and regulators are working at maximum capacity to drain water.
However, he added, “Handling more than 412 millimeters of rainfall in such a short time is a difficult test for any modern city.”
