Flood still causing misery to over 0.167m people

More than 8,759 hectares of cropland damaged


SAJIBUR RAHMAN | Published: September 05, 2021 15:41:06 | Updated: September 05, 2021 19:19:08


Flood still causing misery to over 0.167m people

At least 167,337 people in Bogura, Tangail, Jamalpur and Kurigram districts are still suffering as the major rivers especially the Padma, Kaliganga, Jamuna, Brahmaputra, Dharla, Dhaleswari, Atrai and Turag are flowing above the danger mark.

Apart from this, more than 8,759 hectares of cropland mostly paddy in three districts – Gaibandha, Bogura and Jamalpur were damaged as they were fully submerged in the flood, according to officials and the latest report of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief.

On the other hand, 8 rivers at 19 points are flowing above their respective danger levels. Those rivers are Dharla, Brahmaputra, Jamuna, Turag, Kaliganga, Padma, Atrai and Dhaleswari, according to the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) on Sunday.

The water level of the Ganges-Padma rivers is rising and it may continue to rise in the next 24 hours, it said.

Currently, 13 districts of Bangladesh are affected by floods. These are Kurigram, Gaibandha, Bagura, Jamalpur, Sirajganj, Tangail, Pabna, Manikganj, Gazipur, Rajbari, Faridpur, Munshiganj and Shariatpur.

However, the water level of all the major rivers in the North-Eastern part of the country is slowly coming down and this trend may continue in the next 48 hours, the centre said.

The water level of the Brahmaputra-Jamuna rivers is falling and it may continue to fall in the next 72 hours, it says.

Talking to The Financial Express, Sardar Udoy Raihan, sub-divisional engineer of the FFWC, said the overall situation is expected to improve from Wednesday.

Gaibandha Deputy Commissioner Abdul Matin told The Financial Express that the flood situation is improving a lot and no people had to take shelter at flood shelter centres. 

However, nearly 1,000 hectares of paddy fields were damaged, he added.

Mentioning that the flood situation was improving, Kurigram Deputy Commissioner (DC) Md Rezaul Karim said at least 600 people from 150 families were affected by flood in the char areas of Chilmari, Nageshwari, Sadar, Bhurungamari, Ulipur, Roumari and Char Rajibpur Upazilas in the district.

Apart from this, 12000 hectares of cropland including paddy were damaged during the situation, he told The Financial Express.

The affected people have already received TK 1.25 million flood aid, the DC added.

Over 66,980 people from 16,720 families from Sariakandi, Dhunat Sonatola Upazilas were the victims of the flood in Bogura, Bogura Deputy Commissioner Md Ziaul Haque told The Financial Express.

Describing that the flood situation was improving, he said 349 hectares of cropland, mostly paddy, were damaged too.

A total of 28 educational institutions were also flood-hit, Mr Haque added.

sajibur@gmail.com

Share if you like