Waterlogging in Cumilla city becomes perennial

CUMILLA, July 04: Waterlogging has been one of the major problems of the Cumilla city for a long time. Due to the lack of proper drainage system, different areas of the city are submerged by rain water every year during monsoon.

Waterlogging was created in the whole city recently. The city's main roads are submerged in light to moderate rains. Not only roads but also hospitals, businesses, religious places of worship and houses are flooded due to waterlogging causing sufferings to the city dwellers.

Four hours of rain from 5am to 9am on Sunday caused severe waterlogging in Cumilla city. The whole city came to a halt due to waterlogging. Most of the roads were flooded and the residents of the city became waterlogged.

Ismail Bhuiyan, an official of the Cumilla Meteorological Office, said heavy rains lashed the city from 5am to 9am on Sunday. About 109 mm of rainfall has been recorded in this 04-hour shower. Now the monsoon wind is active. Therefore, there is a possibility of moderate to heavy rains and thundershowers this week and next week as well, he said.

According to multiple sources in the city, the main problem in the Cumilla city is waterlogging. Due to lack of proper drainage system, many parts of the city are submerged every year.

To solve this problem, with the funding of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), a plan was taken to build drains in 27 wards of the city in 2016 by the City Corporation. Box drains have already been built in most parts of the city. But even then the residents of the city were not relieved from the misery of waterlogging.

Besides, construction of drains in many places has not been completed yet. Again, unconscious people have dumped garbage in the drains and blocked the flow of water. Many drains are not working. Besides, when it rains, houses, shops and roads are submerged in water, which has increased the misery of the residents of the city.

Residents of the city complained that the Cumilla-Noakhali regional highway from Tomcham bridge in Cumilla city to Begumganj in Noakhali is being upgraded to four lanes. The Roads and Highways Department has filled most of the Kandi canal in the Tomcham bridge area of Cumilla city.

Most of the city's water is drained through the Kandi canal. But as a result of filling the canal, the drainage path has become narrow resulting in waterlogging in Cumilla city.

Besides, work is underway to upgrade the Dhaka-Chittagong railway double line from Laksam to Akhaura. In order to build this railway, several culverts have been filled in different places of Cumilla for which the people of Cumilla city are getting waterlogged only when there is a little rain. Cumilla City Corporation has not been able to properly supervise this case, which has caused severe waterlogging in the city.

Cumilla Civil Surgeon Dr Mir Mubarak Hossain said waist-deep water flooded the Civil Surgeon's Office and Sadar Hospital in the rain on Sunday morning. The water inundated various rooms including the store room of the hospital and destroyed the goods including medicines and necessary documents. As water entered the rooms of almost all the doctors, the services of the outdoor department have been stopped except for the emergency services on Sunday.

Jonaid Hossain, a resident of the Cumilla Education Board area, said almost all the roads in Cumilla city were submerged in rain for several hours on Sunday morning. Besides, houses in many parts of the city have also been flooded. Many people became waterlogged.

The main problem of the Cumilla city now is waterlogging. But we are not getting rid of this problem at all. This problem is getting worse every year with the onset of monsoon season. The city corporation has completely failed to solve the problem of waterlogging in Cumilla city., he said.

Shamsul Alam, a trader on Mahila College Road in Cumilla, and Abdul Matin, a trader in Salauddin area, said, "Our shop was closed due to the lockdown announced by the government to prevent corona." On Sunday morning we came and saw that rain water had entered the shop. They said that goods worth several lakhs of taka have been destroyed.

Asked about this, Cumilla City Corporation Mayor Monirul Haque Sakku said there are two main canals for drainage in Cumilla city. Among them, the Roads and Highways Department has filled most of the Kandi canal in the Tomcham bridge area while work on the Cumilla-Noakhali regional highway is going on to upgrade it to four lanes. The canal has become narrow. As a result, more waterlogging occurred in the city. Various development works have been made to prevent waterlogging in the city. We continue to try to solve this problem he added.

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