Flood situation starts easing from tomorrow

The flood situation in the country will start improving from tomorrow (Tuesday), as Brahmaputra waters have started receding at Nunkhoa point in Bangladesh, a senior official of the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) said Sunday, reports bdnews24.com. brFFWC executive engineer Saiful Islam at a press conference also said Jamuna waters were stable Sunday. brJamuna waters will start ebbing today (Monday). So will the waters of the river Padma, he said. brThe FFWC engineer said water levels would not rise at any other points in next four or five days. brDirector General of the Water Development Board (WDB) SH Mojaddad Faruque said, Full moon is still up to eight days away. If water does not rise during the next full moon, it will not rise this year. brMr Saiful said there was no reason to be panicked given the raging floods in the Indian state of Bihar. brFloodwaters of Bihar flowed away through the Padma causing it to swell. Flood situation in Bihar improved, he said. brThe WDB chief said up to 25 per cent lowlands of the country were flooded every year. It's normal. It is necessary for agriculture. brOn the breach of embankments, Mr Faruque said all embankments were under watch. But there was no system to observe the earthen embankment round the clock, he added. brHe said the embankments damaged last year could not be repaired due to lack of funds. brThe WDB did not get enough money to tackle flood, he said.brUNB from Sariakandi in Bogra adds Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed Sunday said his government is giving attention towards permanent solution to river-erosion havoc through building permanent flood-protection embankments and other necessary measures in the flood-prone areas of the country.brHe made the remarks while talking to journalists in the Spar-1 area of Sariakandi flood-protection embankment after distributing relief materials, including rice, pulses and edible oils, among flood-affected people.brEarlier, he visited the eroding portion of the flood embankment on the Jamuna River at Talukdarpara of Chandonbaisha under Sariakandi in Bogra district.brDr Fakhruddin said he had already given instruction for finishing all types of development works in dry season as well as for completing tender process by December.brHe said he had discussed with the WDB and the water resources ministry the ways of permanent prevention of river erosion and sudden flooding caused by the erosion.brAssuring all necessary support to flood-affected people, the head of the caretaker government said local administration, joint forces and local government were working together to alleviate the sufferings of flood victims. brHe said medical centres had been opened as well as attention was being given to ensuring supplying of pure drinking water in the flooded areas.brDeputy Commissioner of Bogra Humayun Kabir briefed the Chief Adviser about the reason of the collapse of a portion of the flood-protection embankment of Jamuna River at Talukdarpara, damage done by floods and relief operation in Sariakandi. brThe CA visited Naukhila PN High School flood shelter at Sariakandi to see condition of the flood refugees there and talked to them, assuring that the government was beside them. brLater at around 1130 am, the Chief Adviser flew from Sariakandi to Sirajganj by helicopter and visited flood-hit areas of Ekdala and Gunergati in Sirajganj Sadar Upazila.br50,000 villagers in flooded India refuse to leavebrAP from Patna in India adds At least 50,000 people in India have refused to abandon their homes in flood-ravaged northern Indian state despite pleas by authorities to evacuate, an official said Sunday. Newspaper advertisements also urged thousands of flood survivors Sunday to go to one of 77 state-run camps set up in Saharsa district in impoverished Bihar state, where clean drinking water, food and medical were available.brTowns and villages in the flooded area are home to about 1.2 million people. Rescue workers have evacuated about 900,000 villagers, but with river levels falling by up to two feet (0.6 metre) over the last few days, thousands began to return to their homes, Prataya Amrit, a state disaster management official, said. The Kosi River, which flows down from the Himalayas in neighbouring Nepal into India where it joins the Ganges River, burst its banks August 18 and dramatically shifted course, moving dozens of miles (kilometres) to the east.brIt turned hundreds of square kilometres of land in Bihar into a giant lake.br