Special Correspondent with inputs from Roving Correspondent :
The ongoing flood situation in Bangladesh has affected at least 20 lakh people across 16 districts, according to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief.
The flood districts include Sylhet, Sunamganj, Netrakona, Moulvibazar, Habiganj, Rangpur, Tangail, Jamalpur, Gaibandha, Feni, Rangamati, Bogura, Kurigram, Sirajganj, Lalmonirhat, and Cox’s Bazar.
The relentless surge of the Jamuna River has inundated the chars, leaving vast expanses of water where land once was.
Bastigara was submerged under the floodwaters two to three days ago, and despite a slight decrease in rainfall, water levels have remained largely unchanged throughout Saturday.
According to the Water Development Board, the Bogura region has experienced a 1 cm rise in water levels, while the Gaibandha region has seen a slight decrease.
Despite this, the suffering in the affected areas continues to escalate. New roads and bridges have sustained damage, leading to the inundation of additional areas.
Currently, the Jamuna’s water level in Bogura is 59 cm above the danger mark due to the increased flow from upstream sources.
This continuous rise has caused extensive flooding in the lower regions of the Sariakandi and Sonatala upazilas along the riverbanks. Enrich and edit in newspaper format In the past 24 hours, from Friday 6 PM to Saturday 12 PM, the water level in the Jamuna has increased by 1 cm, as confirmed by Bogura Water Development Board Executive Engineer Nazmul Haque. Conversely, water levels in the Gaibandha region have begun to recede.
The rising waters have led to severe flooding in the lower areas of Sariakandi, Sonatala, and Dhunat upazilas, which are situated along the Jamuna’s banks in Bogura district. Gabtali upazila, being adjacent to Sariakandi, has also suffered from the flood’s impact.
Sariakandi Upazila has been particularly hard hit, with the floodwaters overflowing the river’s floodplain and inundating low-lying homesteads, educational institutions, and vast tracts of cropland.
The flood has affected numerous areas, including Chaluabari, Kornibari, Bohail, Kajla, Chandanbaisha, Sariakandi Sadar, Hatsherpur, Qutubpur, and Kamalpur unions, where 122 char houses have been submerged. The residents, along with their cattle, are now seeking refuge on higher ground.
The floodwaters have devastated crops, including young saplings, mashkalai pulses, pepper, and local varieties of Ganjaya rice.
Matlubar Rahman, deputy director of Bogura’s Agricultural Extension Department, said that 1085 hectares of paddy, maize, jute, and vegetables were submerged in the flood water in Sariakandi alone.
Bogura Water Development Board Executive Engineer Nazmul Haque said, “The rate of water rise in the river has decreased; however, the water is still rising at a rate of 1 to 2 cm a day. This is how the water in the river will increase until July 7. He said that the water will start to decrease on July 8.
When asked about the condition of the river dam and river erosion, he said, “We are keeping a close eye on our right bank protection dam till now. We have already started the work in some places where the river has eroded. We have placed guards in the Kamalpur area of Sariakandi upazila. We had people there at night too.”
“We are always on alert for river erosion, Bogura District Commissioner Saiful Islam said, adding that until Friday afternoon, 12 thousand families in Sariakandi and about 450 families in Sonatala upazila were affected by flooding. We have no news of water logging in Dhunat yet.”
He said that the relief ministry has already allocated 10 lakh taka for the flood victims in Bogura districts. Besides, 500 packets of dry food and 500 metric tonnes of GR rice were found. Among them, relief materials have been distributed among 450 flood-affected families in Sariakandi on Saturday.
1000 packets have been prepared for Sonatala Upazila. Today, 450 to 500 families will be given. For the flood victims, 10 kg of GR rice is being given in packets along with mudri, chira, jaggery, dal, oil onion, bread, and water purification tablets.
On the other hand, the flood situation in Gaibandha is more dire than in Bogura. There are four upazilas under water. Saghata, Phulchari, a part of Gaibandha Sadar, and Sundarganj. Most of the area of Saghata-Phulchari is pasture.
The settlements built in the Jamuna basin are now drowning under water. The situation is slowly getting out of control. Several rural roads were broken in Saghata Phulchuri. Hundreds of families have taken shelter in the higher places of the localities. Common people are also worried about the main road.
Gaibandha District Commissioner Kazi Nahid Rasul told the media that four upazilas in Gaibandha are currently infested with wild animals. Among them are Gaibandha Sadar, Sundarganj, Saghata, and Phulchari. The total number of unions is 29.
The total number of water-bound families is 67729. Among them are Gaibandha Sadar 39889, Sundarganj 5200, Saghata 15150, and Phulchari 7490. The number of permanent temporary shelters is 181. Already, 3050 packets of dry food, 165 metric tonnes of GR rice (natural calamities), and 10 lakhs of GR cash have been sub-allocated to 4 upazilas by the district administration. 265 MT of GR rice (natural calamity) stockpile.
Control rooms have been opened in the district and upazila to monitor the flood situation. Union-based flood shelters are ready. A medical team, an agriculture team, a volunteer team, and a livestock team have been formed in each upazila.
In other districts as well, the flood has caused widespread destruction, submerging low-lying areas in Tangail and Sirajganj districts. There is also a looming threat of floodwaters inundating many low-lying areas in the Manikganj district.
According to the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC), the major rivers in the north-eastern region of the country are in a rising trend, which may continue for the next 72 hours.
The Brahmaputra River is in a steady state, while the Jamuna River is on a rising trend. In the next 24 hours, the Brahmaputra River may fall slowly, while the Jamuna River may remain steady.
The meteorological department has forecasted heavy rainfall in the upstream regions over the next five days, which is likely to exacerbate the flood situation.
The Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) has warned that the flood situation in the low-lying areas of Sylhet, Sunamganj, and Netrokona districts may deteriorate slightly in the next 24 hours.
The ongoing flood has caused significant damage to livestock, infrastructure, agriculture, and the livelihoods of the affected communities.
In the next 24 hours, the overall flood situation in various low-lying areas of the north-eastern region may slightly improve, he added.
He further said, “In the next 24 hours, the Teesta, Dharla, Dudhkumar, and Ghagot Rivers in the northern region of the country may rise rapidly at times.
As a result, the Teesta River may flow above danger level for the short term at some points, and the flood situation in some low-lying areas of Kurigram and Gaibandha districts along the Dharla, Dudhkumar, and Ghagot Rivers may deteriorate.”
Sarder Udoy Raihan, also in charge of the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC), said that the Ganges-Padma Rivers are in a rising trend, which may continue in the next 72 hours.
All the rivers in the north-eastern region of the country are in an overall falling trend, which may continue in the next 24 hours, he added.
According to information from meteorological organisations, heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected in the northern region and adjoining upstream parts of the country.
According to the FFWC report, in the next 24 hours, the flood situation of the Brahmaputra-Jamuna river along Kurigram, Jamalpur, Gaibandha, Bogura, Tangail, and Serajganj districts may remain steady, while in the next 48 hours, the Padma river at Goalundo point may flow above its warning level.
Apart from this, in the next 48 hours, the Jamuneswari, Karatoa, Bangali, Upper Karotoa, Punarbhaba, Tangon, Ichamoti-Jamuna, Atrai, Mohananda, and Choto-Jamuna rivers in the northern region and the north-western region of the country may rise at times.
According to the India Meteorological Department, isolated heavy rainfall is very likely over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, and Bihar between July 7 and 10; Odisha on July 7-8; Assam and Meghalaya between July 7 and 8; and Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura during July 7–10.
Besides, isolated extremely heavy rainfall is very likely over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, and Bihar on July 6 too.
Meanwhile, State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief, Md. Mohibur Rahman, said on Saturday that the government has allocated a total of 8,700 metric tonnes of rice, Tk3.10 crore in cash, 58,500 sacks of dry food, Tk60 lakh for baby food, and Tk60 lakh for fodder for flood-hit districts.
According to the local administration’s sources, no one died, but 20 lakh people were affected by the flood, he said, adding that flood-affected people took shelter in 36,223 shelters.
The government is working on the flood-affected areas, he said while briefing journalists regarding the ongoing flood situation, adding that the southern portion of the country may witness more flooding.
All necessary items were given to the parliament members, deputy commissioners, and Upazila Nirbahi officers as per their demand, and there is no reason for a lack of relief, he added.