As heavy rain continued over the past two days due to deep depression over the Bay, various parts of the city went under water, causing suffering to pedestrians and disrupting both business activities and vehicular traffic. The photo was taken outside the Dhanmondi Hawkers Market on Friday afternoon. — FE Photo by Asad-Uz-Zaman Due to the impact of a deep depression in the bay, Dhaka experienced continuous rainfall from Thursday dawn.
The city witnessed 196 mm rainfall from Thursday morning to Friday morning which is highest this year so far.
The intensity of the rain increased further after Thursday evening, leading to waterlogging and severe traffic congestion in various parts of the city.
Many vehicles broke down as water seeped into their engines, leaving commuters stranded for hours in immense discomfort.
Hundreds of residents waded through knee- to waist-deep water across various parts of the city between Thursday night and the early hours of Friday to return home.
Stagnant water severely disrupted traffic from the Bijoy Sharani intersection to the road leading to the Chief Adviser's Office and Army Aviation.
By around 11 PM on Thursday, roads stretching from Banani Chairman Bari, Sainik Club intersection, and Kakali to the Naval Headquarters were submerged in knee-deep water. Several vehicles were stalled after water entered their engines.
A similar scene was witnessed in Mirpur's Kalshi area around midnight, where waist-deep water was there from the Kalshi flyover to Purbani.
The situation worsened near the main gate of the Journalists' Residential Area, with water reaching waist-high and at least 25 to 30 vehicles were stranded along the road.
Inside the residential area, nearly all roads were submerged, while the canal and the adjacent eastern road were completely under water.
By 10:00 PM Thursday, major stretches from Shewrapara to Kazipara in Mirpur, Khamarbari to Dhanmondi-27, and Dhaka College to Nilkhet were all submerged in knee-deep water.
Numerous battery-operated rickshaws, CNG auto-rickshaws, and buses broke down on waterlogged streets. Many motorcyclists were forced to take the footpaths between 1:00 and 2:00am on Friday to avoid the waterlogged roads.
Although Friday morning saw lighter rainfall, many parts of the city remained waterlogged.
The New Market area, in particular, stayed underwater until midday.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department warned that the deep depression over the Bay of Bengal could lead to several more days of rainfall, potentially worsening waterlogging in the capital.
The Met Office recorded highest rainfall in Maijdi Court at 285 mm, followed by Chandpur with 242mm and Dhaka 196mm.
In the evening forecast, the Met Office said light to moderate rain with lightning flashes and temporary gusty wind is likely to occur at most places over Mymensingh, Dhaka, Khulna, Barishal, Chattogram and Sylhet divisions and at many places over Rangpur and Rajshahi divisions with moderately heavy to very heavy falls at places over Mymensingh, Dhaka, Khulna, Barishal, Chattogram and Sylhet divisions in next twenty four hours, commencing from Friday evening.
However, to address the waterlogging issue, the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) established a dedicated control room to ensure rapid response in affected areas in an effort to swiftly address waterlogging issues across the capital.
Residents of DNCC and DSCC are requested to contact Faruk Hasan Md Al Masud, supervising engineer at DNCC, at 0173982486, and Dr Mohammad Shafiullah Siddique Bhuiyan, supervising engineer at DSCC, at 01968468367, for assistance.
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