Asraful Islam Asraf
It is just the start of the monsoon season in the subcontinent. The torrential rain in the morning has caused water clogging in the capital. Knee-deep water has accumulated on some of the roads, and the pavement has been submerged in water. As a result, commuters and ordinary pedestrians rushing for the office experienced misery. They mostly suffered due to heavy rain and transportation crises. Public transport on the road has been seen much less. Rickshaw and CNG-powered auto rickshaw drivers charged extra fares, realizing the opportunity that people are being forced to go to work in the rainy season.
Even the Bangladesh Bank area were not free from waterlogging. Water flooded the streets of the 30-storey building from the main gate of the central bank. The various stakeholders who came to the bank to receive services, including various officials and employees, had to wade through the makeshift water bodies to reach their destination.
Each year, monsoon rains brings nightmares for the city dwellers. On Tuesday morning, those who left home in search of a livelihood realized that it was a bitter experience. Due to the waterlogging, office-going people were seen waiting for public transport with umbrellas on head and pants rolled up to their knees.
Those who were not able to board on a public transport had to go for work by foot after rolling up their pants. On the other hand, the road was submerged and a severe traffic jam was pervasive.
The issue of waterlogging is nothing new. A few drops of rain can cause waterlogging narrow alleys and streets of the city. The drainage channels of the capital are filled with garbage and the water cannot get down quickly, subsequently inundating the road surface.
Due to rain Motijheel, Gulistan, Karwan Bazar, Farmgate, Mirpur, Tejgaon, Mohammadpur, Badda, Malibagh, Rampura, Old Dhaka, Airport Road, Khilkhet and other areas of the capital were flooded. Roads in the capital’s Kakrail, Gulshan-Badda link roads and other important areas were flooded due to rains since Tuesday morning. Also, when vehicles passed through flooded streets, the waves spilled on the footpath beside the roads. The bodies and clothes of the pedestrians got wet in it.
Md. Harun-or-Rashid, a businessman, said he came to his office in Fakirapul area from Banasree with an umbrella as a shield against rain. He could not walk properly as the trapped water on the road made the progress difficult.
Another padestrian Jarin Tasnim said that due to heavy rains, the road was so waterlogged that she had to suffer on the way to the Dhaka University area for emergency work. Many people like them said that when it rains every year, there is such waterlogging in the capital. Ordinary people fall into suffering. But no initiative has been taken by the concerned authority to alleviate this waterlogging. Ordinary people like us have to pay the price.
However, Arif Hossain, a meteorologist at the Department of Meteorology told that there was a possibility of intermittent rain in the capital till afternoon on Tuesday. Besides, it was raining in different parts of the country, it may continue. The meteorological office said 85 millimeters of rain fell in three hours from 6 am to 9 am on Tuesday. Gradually, rainfall will increase in the eastern and coastal areas of the country. The meteorological office has forecast heavy rains in Dhaka on Wednesday. At the same time light to moderate rain or thunderstorms with temporary gusts are likely in Rangpur, Rajshahi, Dhaka, Mymensingh, Khulna, Barisal, Chittagong and Sylhet divisions of the country in the next 24 hours.
