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Flash flood submerges low-lying areas in Sylhet, Sunamganj

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Sylhet Bureau :
The water levels in the bordering rivers including Surma have increased due to continuous downpour for the last three days.
On Friday morning, water level at Shologhor Point of Surma increased to 68 centimeters above the danger level, according to media reports.
People of Sylhet and Sunamganj said the flash flood was triggered by heavy rain. Many areas went under flood water.
Flood situation has worsened Several hundred thousand people of four upazilas in Sylhet after torrential rain over the last few days led to the flooding of parts of Gowainghat, Companiganj, Jaintiapur and Kanaighat sub-districts.
Flooding has cut off road communications, inundated paddy fields and fishing ponds.
Most low-lying villages in Gowainghat were flooded after Sari and Piyain rivers overflowed their banks following heavy rainfall.
The Sarighat-Gwainghat road went under water on Friday afternoon, cutting off communication with district town.
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of workers remained unemployed after the stone quarries of Bichanakandi and Jaflong were shut down temporarily several days ago.
In Companiganj, houses, roads of upazila sadar, Parua and volaganj village went under water on Thursday night.
Kazi Jasim Uddin of Ischakal Union said the most houses of Durgapur, Bishunupur, Shibpur, Bagjur, Putamara, Shimultola, Lombakandi, Muradkandi, Kathalbari, Dolkhola, Bahadurpara and Navagati villages were submerged in knee-deep water.
The villagers are having a tough time, he said.
Upazila Education Officer Md Jahirul Haque said the children could not go to schools as the roads had been under water for the last few days. They will be compelled to close schools if the situation did not improve.
In Jaintiapur, the low-lying villages of Nijpat, Jaintipur and Charikata unions were inundated after three days of torrential rain. The river is flowing 47 centimetres above its danger level.
Road communication with the Sadar upazila and district town has been suspended causing immense suffering to the people.
The weather office recorded 56 millimetres of rainfall in the last 24 hours.
Upazila Nirbahi Officer Biswajit Kumar Paul said heavy rain in the last three days led to the overflowing of the river and flooding of some villages. ‘We are ready to help the affected villagers after enlisting their names. A team is working on it,’ he added.
In Kanaighat, residents of various areas are suffering from waterlogging after torrential rain.
The rising water level inflicted damage to products in many shops and gave students a hard time going to schools for the last several days. It has thrown the city’s wastage management into disarray. The waste management system is also in shambles due to the flooding.
Nizam Uddin Municipal Mayor said they have to dig the canals to solve waterlogging and trying to execute various plans to solve the problem.
In Sunamganj : According to sources from the Water Development Board (WDB), due to non-stop flashfloods in the upstream that increased water levels in the rivers, different low-lying residential areas including Nabingarh, Bananipara, Shologhor, Tegharia, Baropara and Bilpar of Sunamganj town have been flooded. Water levels of the rivers might rise more in the next 24 hours, said officials.
Locals said about 4 kilometers of road stretching from Sunamganj to Tahirpur upazila have become submerged.
The water levels in haors and rivers have risen and the lower regions of Tahirpur, Dowarabazar upazila and others have become inundated, causing more than one lakh residents to suffer.
Water Development Board executive engineer Abu Bakr Siddiq said, the river levels have been raised above hazardous levels. He added that there is a high chance of a big flood if the rain continues unabatedly.
Waterlogging causes untold suffering to Sylhet city dwellers
As monsoon sets in, waterlogging in many areas of Sylhet city and its suburbs is causing immense sufferings to the dwellers.
After hours of downpour on Wednesday, many parts of the city, including Londoni Road, Pathantula, Madina Market, Puranlane and Sheikhghat, were waterlogged for hours and the situation repeated after every downpour.
Ratan Miah, a pharmacist in Pathantula, said, ‘Londoni Road to Madina Market via Pathantula, this part gets waterlogged every year after only an hour of rainfall. The city corporation started the extended work of improving the sewerage system of the road, but the slow progress is causing more trouble this year.’
Ajmol Bakht Sadek, a resident of Puranlane, said, ‘Only a little rainfall causes serious waterlogging in the area as not only the road, but many houses are getting flooded as well.’
Ali Akbar, executive engineer of SCC, said, ‘These parts of the town comprise of hillocks and some upper-lying land that bring huge water flow to the main drainage system, which is not capable of carrying that much. We’ve started drainage development work and will finish by next rainy season.’
He also said, ‘The waterlogging at Puranlane is caused by incomplete drainage development work at Zindabazar. It will be completed soon.’
So far, 23 schemes of three bigger projects are being implemented to develop drainage system of these parts of the city. These projects are estimated to end by 2020, Ali Akbar said.
Mayor Ariful Haque Chowdhury was seen monitoring maintenance of the old drainage system in Pathantula yesterday morning. ‘We’re trying hard to resolve waterlogging problem but it’s a huge challenge in a very short time. We’ve successfully reduced waterlogging in many areas and will hopefully reduce it in all remaining ones.’
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