Newly-constructed road from Mirpur-10 to 12 blamed for water-logging
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
FE Report
The densely populated Mirpur became one of the worst affected areas in the heavy overnight downpour that submerged most roads and low-lying areas in and around the capital on Tuesday.
Residents blamed the newly-constructed road from Mirpur-10 to Mirpur Cantonment for the water-logging in the areas between Mirpur-10 and Mirpur-12.
"Before the construction of the road the rainwater took very little time to drain. But this time the water stagnated and flooded the entire area," Shahadat Hossain, a resident of Mirpur-12, told the FE.
Residents said the authorities overlooked the drainage system, when they constructed the road, which is now taking a toll on the residents.
Mirpur saw its normal life and economic activities come to a halt, as most of its roads looked like canals, leading to severe traffic jam in one of the most populous areas of the city of 12 million people.
Its drainage system became clogged and failed to cope with the heavy rush of rainwater causing water-logging at many places.
Manhole covers were opened to flush out water, but their numbers seemed too small to drain the water off the streets.
Offices, businesses and warehouses located in the basements and ground floor of buildings went under knee-deep water in the morning, causing financial losses to the owners.
The woes of the residents mounted as power and water supply remained disrupted till the filing of this report at 8:00pm.
Dhaka was battered by a record 290 milimetres (11.42 inches) of rainfall in the six hours until 7:00am in the morning, said the weather department.
"It's the highest single day rainfall of 333 millimetres in July in the capital since 1956. In the last 24 hours, the amount of rainfall was 440 millimetres," Ayesha Khatun, a meteorologist, said, predicting further downpour in the next few days due to the influence of the monsoon low over the Bay of Bengal.
The densely populated Mirpur became one of the worst affected areas in the heavy overnight downpour that submerged most roads and low-lying areas in and around the capital on Tuesday.
Residents blamed the newly-constructed road from Mirpur-10 to Mirpur Cantonment for the water-logging in the areas between Mirpur-10 and Mirpur-12.
"Before the construction of the road the rainwater took very little time to drain. But this time the water stagnated and flooded the entire area," Shahadat Hossain, a resident of Mirpur-12, told the FE.
Residents said the authorities overlooked the drainage system, when they constructed the road, which is now taking a toll on the residents.
Mirpur saw its normal life and economic activities come to a halt, as most of its roads looked like canals, leading to severe traffic jam in one of the most populous areas of the city of 12 million people.
Its drainage system became clogged and failed to cope with the heavy rush of rainwater causing water-logging at many places.
Manhole covers were opened to flush out water, but their numbers seemed too small to drain the water off the streets.
Offices, businesses and warehouses located in the basements and ground floor of buildings went under knee-deep water in the morning, causing financial losses to the owners.
The woes of the residents mounted as power and water supply remained disrupted till the filing of this report at 8:00pm.
Dhaka was battered by a record 290 milimetres (11.42 inches) of rainfall in the six hours until 7:00am in the morning, said the weather department.
"It's the highest single day rainfall of 333 millimetres in July in the capital since 1956. In the last 24 hours, the amount of rainfall was 440 millimetres," Ayesha Khatun, a meteorologist, said, predicting further downpour in the next few days due to the influence of the monsoon low over the Bay of Bengal.