Monsoon brings woes

Katalgonj-Shulok Bahar intersection goes under water following a downpour. The photo was taken on Sunday noon. Photo: Zobaer Hossain Sikder

The drainage system is so poor that even an hour-long shower is enough to trigger flash floods in low-lying areas, paralysing normal life for hours together.

But the authorities concerned remained indifferent to the woes of the people.

With the advent of every rainy season, the residents become worried about how to survive the onslaught of floods.

Flash floods and water-logging gripped most of the low-lying areas here disrupting traffic movement after a heavy downpour on June 7.

Thousands of people were stranded at different points of the city and hundreds of vehicles stuck up when over three-foot rainwater inundated roads in the low-lying areas.

The business people stayed indoors as Agrabad VIP Road was submerged under rainwater.

The worst-hit areas due to the flash flood and water-logging are Chawkbazar, Chaktai Canal, Bakalia, DC Road,Ghasiapara, Muradpur, Bahaddarhat, Kapashgola, Ghatforhadbeg, Khatunganj, Asadganj, Rajakali, Badurtola, Panchlaish Residential Area, Nasirabad, Dewan Bazar Masterpool, Bahubazar, Halishahar, Port Connecting Road, Reazuddin Bazar and Rahamatganj, residents said.

Unplanned constructions and faulty drainage system had caused the flash flood and water-logging in the port city, Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) sources said.

Even some buildings were constructed over the drains in the city obstructing the flow of rainwater. It caused water-logging during rainy season, sources added.

The drains were getting silted with the beginning of rainy season as the sands were flowing down following hill cutting in the port city, Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) sources said.

The indiscriminate hill cutting in Chittagong created the problem of siltation, the sources added.

The CCC needs conservancy workers to remove sands from the drains regularly to allow the passage of rainwater, sources said.