120 villages flooded as Bogra dam caves in

Flooding deteriorated in the country on Friday as a portion of the flood control embankment at Sariakandi in Bogra collapsed leaving 120 villages washed away.  
Nearly three people have died and 0.128 million hectares of crop fields have gone under floodwater since August 16 in the country, sources have said.
The river Jamuna was flowing 41 to 99 cm above the danger mark in Jamalpur, Sirajganj and Bogra districts on Friday, Executive Engineer at Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) under the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) told the FE.
He said the Jamuna was flowing 97 cm above the danger mark in Sarikandi upazila under Bogra district on the day.
Nearly 120 villages went under water as the flood control embankment in Shariakandi upazila of Bogra collapsed under the pressure of water from the Jamuna at 1:30 to 2:0 am after Thursday midnight.
Nearly 300 metres of the dam were washed away by the Jamuna leaving nearly 0.12 million people marooned and 10,000 hectares of crop fields in Sariakandi and Dhunat upazilas submerged.
Deputy Commissioner in Bogra district Md Shafiqur Reza Biswas told the FE that if the Jamuna continued swelling, the three other upazilas including Sonatola, Gabtoli and Sherpur would also be affected by the flood.
Md Biswas said that 120 villages in Sariakandi and Dhunat upazilas went under water as the dam collapsed. He said three people had so far died and one got injured since August 16 in Bogra district.
He said 95 tonnes of rice and Tk 175 thousand had been allocated for the flood-affected people in Sariakandi and 60 tonnes of rice and Tk 125 thousand for people in Dhunat upazila.
However, nearly 13,000 hectares of croplands in Bogra, Sirajganj, Gaibandha, Lalmonirhat, Rangpur, Jamalpur, Netrakona and Shariatpur districts were inundated afresh on Friday, officials at the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) and BWDB officials said.
A total of 128 thousand hectares of croplands, mostly Aman fields, had gone under water over the last two weeks in the country raising the fear of a severe yield loss, DAE officials said.
However, according to the FFWC data updated on Friday evening showed that the water levels in Jamuna, Padma, Brahmaputra and few other rivers rose to flow above their danger marks at 20 points in 15 districts.
The Gur river in Natore and the Sitalakhya in Narayanganj were added to the list of the rivers which were flowing over the danger level. The water level receded slightly in the Teesta at the Dalia point under Nilphamari district on Friday.
The water level in the Meghna rose in Narsingdi, at Bhairab in Kishoreganj and in Chandpur district and was set to cross the danger level, according to the FFWC data.
However, the government has not declared any flood-affected place officially a 'disaster-hit area', sources said.
Economist ASM Golam Hafiz Kennedy commented that few upazilas should be declared 'disaster-hit areas' to safeguard the people, especially the poor farmers.
He urged the government to declare parts of Sunamganj, Sirajganj, Bogra, Gaibandha, Lalmonirhat and other districts 'disaster-hit areas.' It could help avoid any severe damage and also could help poor farmers in getting compensation.