Water level swelling Char areas worst affected

The water level of 16 rivers, inlcuding the Dharla,Brahmaputra, Dudkumer, Phulkumer, Jamuna, Ganges, Padma and Meghna, are on continuous rise due to heavy rains and onrush of waters from the upstream. With the rise of water level, the flood situation has further deteriorated inundating more low-laying and char areas in the Brahmaputra basin during the last 24 hours ending Tuesday morning. According to a Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) bulletin, water levels at 46 river stations have marked rises, while 43 stations recorded falls. Of the river stations monitored, water levels at ten river stations are flowing above their respective danger marks. The Ghagot at Gaibandha, the Brahmaputra at Chilmari, the Jamuna at Bahadurabad, Sariakandi and Sirajganj were flowing above their danger marks by 24cm, 9cm, 27cm, 57 and 0cm respectively, the bulletin said, adding that the Atrai, the Dhaleswari, the Surma at Kanaighat, Sunamganj and Kangsha at Jariajanjail were also flowing above their respective danger levels by 36 cm, 11 cm, 55 cm, 38 cm and 67 cm.Our Kurigram Correspondent reports: Areas that lie along Jamuna’s course — Sirajganj Sadar, Belkuchi, Enayetpur, Chouhali, Kazipur, river islets at Shahzadpur upazila — have been flooded and were subjected to erosion.Meanwhile, more than one hundred chars of the low lying areas have been inundated. As a result, over twenty thousand people have been marooned and the newly planted ten thousand hectares of Ropa Aman and vegetable fields have gone under flash flood. Chairman of Jatrapur Union Parishad under Kurigram Sadar upazila Abdul Gafur told this correspondent that eighty per cent areas of his union have been marooned within the last two days and river erosion is also going on here. Chairman of Narayanpur Union Parished under Nageswari upazila Shah Jamal Uddin Molla said that most of the area of the union are char areas which have been inundated with sudden onrush of flash flood. The newly planted Ropa Aman and other crops are unudated, said chairman of Austomirchar union under Chilmari upazila Sohrab Hossain.On the other hand, the Sonahat Bridge of Bhurungamari upazila in Kurigram is being threatened as on rush of water from the upstream and devastating erosion of the river Dudkumer.He said the agitated villagers blocked the road at 11 am on Saturday for six hours burning tyres and falling bamboo and drum on both sides of the bridge. Consequently, hundreds of vehicles movement remained halted on both sides of the bridge. Bhurungamari upazila chairman Nurunnabi Chaudhury and Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) AJM Ershad Ahshan Habib along with police forces brought the situation under control at 2:00am. Executive Engineer of Kurigram Water Development Board Abu Taher told this correspondent that the work of 868 meters embankment to protect it from erosion is going on in an urgent basis. Engineers have been deployed there to protect the dam. It will be controlled within one or two days, he added. Kurigram deputy commissioner ABM Azad said that 10 metric tones of GR rice have been allocated for the river erosion victims of Nageswari and Bhurungamari upazilas. In addition, a fax message has been sent to Relief and Desaster Ministry asking for 200MT of rice and Taka 5 lakh in cash. The deputy commissioners, UNOs, WDB and health officials and public representatives of some northern districts have been visiting the flood affected areas and taking actions to conduct rescue operation, distributing relief goods and providing medicare services.The government has been distributing rice and cash among the flood-hit people in Kurigram, Gaibandha, Lalmonirhat, Nilpharimari, Bogra and Sirajganj districts, sources said.