Flood situation worsens in 4 districts

The flood situation in Kurigram,  Sirajganj, Lalmonirhat and Gaibandha districts worsened on Monday due to onrush of water from upstream and heavy rainfall. In Kurigram, water levels of 16 rivers including Brahmaputra, Dharala, Dudhkumar and Teesta are persistently on the rise, inundating more villages in the district, reports our correspondent. Hundreds of villages in the district are under water, leaving 150,000 people in scarcity of safe water, sanitation, food and shelter. The Brahmaputra River was flowing 2cm above the danger level while water level of Dudhkumar raised by 19cm, Dharala River by 26cm and Teesta River by 11cm. Nearly 100,000 people in 20 low-lying unions of Chilmari upazila in the Brahmaputra River basin have been passing their days with little access to clean drinking water for five days. The people of the areas are now facing an acute crisis of food and drinking water, said locals. Contacted, Deputy Commissioner of Kurigram Abu Saleh Mohammad Ferdous Khan said: “We have taken all kinds of preparation to fight the flood situation.” In Sirajganj, Water Development Board (WDB) Executive Eengineer Syed Imam Hasan said the low-lying areas of 33 unions in Kajipur, Shahjadpur, Belkuchi, Chouhali and Sadar upazilas on the Jamuna River bank went under water as the river kept rising following the onrush of water from the upstream and heavy rain, our correspondent said. The road communications of the areas were disrupted while huge sugarcane and jute fields were submerged due to the Jamuna flowing 29cm above the danger level. The Jamuna also started erosion at different places of Koijuri and Sonatoni unions in Shahjadpur upazila, said Shahjadpur Upazila Nirbahi Officer Alimul Rajib. According to reports of our Lalmonirhat reporter, the water level of Teesta and Dharala were flowing above the danger level. Executive Engineer Mostafizur Rahman of Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) at Dalia division said the Teesta River was flowing at least 30cm above the danger level at Dalia point while Dharala 25cm above the danger mark at Kulaghat point on Monday morning, flooding vast areas of several upazilas. Several thousands of people in several unions of Hatibandha upazila, Kakina, Votemari union parishads of Kaliganj upazila, Mohishkhocha of Aditmari upazila, Khuniagas, Mogholhat, Kulaghat, Rajpur areas of Sadar upazila are marooned by the floodwater. In Gaibandha, the officials of WDB said the Brahmaputra was flowing 14cm above its danger level at Fulchharighat point. The Ghagot which was flowing through the main land rose by 1cm during the period and was flowing just 1cm below its danger mark at New Bridge Road point in the morning, sources said. With the rise of water level in the Brahmaputra, the chars and the river basin areas of Sundarganj, Sadar Fulchhari and Saghata upazila was inundated making hundreds of char dwellers marooned.