Working class people facing their daily drudgery defying the waterlogging at Dayaganj in the city on Tuesday — FE Photo by Shafiqul Alam A light-to-moderate flood may occur in Dhaka's low-lying areas as major rivers around the capital are swelling alarmingly, said officials.
The monsoon that began on Sunday night has swamped many parts of the metropolis, disrupting public movement at places on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the flood situation further deteriorated in several parts of the country due to heavy rain and the onrush of water from upper-riparian India.
According to the Met office, 87 millimetre (mm) of rain was recorded in the capital from Monday evening to Tuesday morning.
The highest rainfall was recorded as 180 mm at Chhatak the same day.
Many streets, lanes and by-lanes in Dhaka went under ankle to knee-deep water amid torrential rain.
People, mainly office-goers, who went outside for different purposes, found themselves in trouble all day amid waterlogging and traffic congestion.
However, the Kaliganga river at Taraghat started flowing 11 centimetres over danger mark since Tuesday morning, inundating parts of Savar and Keraniganj.
The Tongi river at Tongi point was flowing just 30 cm below danger mark when the swelling might continue for next three days, said Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) under Bangladesh Water Development Board.
The Shitalakhya in Narayanganj started flowing 3.0 cm above danger mark on Tuesday noon, posing a serious threat both to the port city and parts of Dhaka.
The Mirpur, Balu, Turag and Dhaleswary were inflating as they reached closed to their respective danger marks on Tuesday afternoon.
The Buriganga river was also rising but still much below danger mark.
FFWC engineer Arifuzzaman Bhuiyan said water was rising continuously in major basins, including Brahmaputra-Jamuna, Padma and Upper Meghna that put severe impact on rivers around the city.
He said the swelling of rivers might continue for the next few days amid heavy rain and the onrush of upstream water from India.
The current flood is likely to turn into a lengthy one in the country's several regions while the Dhaka city might witness a light-to-moderate flood this year.
The situation might be worst if heavy rain continues for the next one week, Mr Bhuiyan added.
However, many places in Mohammadpur areas adjacent to Beribandh, Kalyanpur, Mirpur, Monipuripara, Farmgate, Karwanbazar, Green Road, Dhanmondi, New Market, Paltan, Motijheel, Rajarbagh, Shyambazar, Nawabganjbazar, Jurain and other parts of the Old City remained ankle to knee-deep water on Tuesday.
Water entered the first floor in places in Green Road, East Rayerbazar, Jurain, Shyambazar and many other areas near Beribandh.
Traffic congestion turned severe on Airport Road, Mirpur, Gabtoli, Banglamotor, Gulistan, Motijheel and other city parts.
Mirpur-10 to Mirpur-01, Sewrapara, Kazipara part of Begum Rokeya Sarani, Agargaon crossing, Bijoy Sarani crossing, Kalabagan, Asad Gate, Dhanmondi 27 and New Market inundated on the day.
The route between Mirpur and Uttara via Kalshi was worst-affected as it took passengers 4.5-6.0 hours on the route against 1.0-1.5 hours in normal time, said Maksudar Rahman, a supervisor of Prajapati Paribahan.
Shantinagar, Malibagh, Mouchak, Maghbazar and Kakrail also witnessed the similar situation on the day.
Light-to-moderate rain may occur in most places over Rangpur, Mymensingh, Chattogram and Sylhet divisions and many places over Rajshahi and Barishal, few places over Dhaka and Khulna in the next twenty-four hours.
Due to active monsoon, all maritime ports of Bangladesh have been advised to hoist local cautionary signal No 03.
Meanwhile, the flood situation in northern, north-eastern, southern and central parts might deteriorate further in the next three days, said the FFWC.
Water rose at 72 points across the country on Tuesday when they swelled over danger mark at 28 points.
Seventeen major rivers, including Brahmaputra, Jamuna, Padma, Teesta, Surma and Upper Meghna swelled over danger marks in 18 districts on the day.
However, a total of 81 people died in the three-week floods while 2.5 million people were marooned in 90 sub-districts in the country.
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