A minister could not attend a weekly meeting of the Cabinet Division on Monday, as he got stuck due to a waterlogged street in Dhaka.
Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam confirmed the matter after the meeting, but did not reveal the minister’s name.
He said eight ministers were supposed to take part in the meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who attended the meeting from Ganabhaban via videoconference.
“The prime minister and the principal secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office joined the online meeting from Ganabhaban, and the ministers from the secretariat building.
“However, we had seven ministers present at the meeting; one could not come to the Secretariat as he got stuck in the rainwater,” the cabinet secretary said during the post-meeting briefing.
He further said steps had been taken to clear out the rainwater in the secretariat area.
The overnight monsoon rain from late Sunday night till Monday morning flooded many parts of Dhaka, disrupting people’s movement and triggering traffic gridlock.
According to Bangladesh Meteorological Department, 63mm of rain was recorded in the city between 6am to 9am on Monday.
Many streets, lanes and by-lanes in Dhaka were submerged in ankle to knee- deep water till late Monday morning.
Office-goers and others found themselves in trouble in the morning due to the waterlogged streets and the resulting traffic jam.
