Fresh areas go under water as Padma, Jamuna keep swelling

  • 29/07/2008

  • New Age (Bangladesh)

Major rivers, including the Padma and the Jamuna, continued to swell Monday, disrupting ferry services and overflowing banks in some districts, where fresh areas went under water. At least one death was reported as surging water inundated more villages and washed away parts of river banks, according to reports reaching from Manikganj and Faridpur districts. Stranded vehicles stood in long queues for hours on the both sides of the Padma river as pontoons at Paturia-Daulatdia ferry ghats sank. Flood forecasters, however, said water level in the major river system, Brahmaputra-Jamuna, will start falling in next 48 hours due to low rainfall. New Age correspondent from Manikganj reports, the swelling Padma disrupted ferry service on the Paturia-Daulatdia route, keeping hundreds of buses and trucks waiting for hours. Road communications between Dhaka and the country's south and south-western regions were badly hampered as parts of the pontoons were washed away. Vehicles were slowly getting into the ferries using the other pontoons, which are also in a risky condition, staff said. Hundreds of vehicles including buses and trucks were stranded on the approach roads on the both sides. New Age Faridpur correspondent reports, swelling water from the Padma inundated more areas of the district headquarters and Charvadrasan upazila Monday. Villages Balia, Dholarmor, Yazuddin Matubbarer Dangi, Saha Dangi, Bishwas Dangi, Guchchhagram and Mandartala of Faridpur Sadar upazila and Chardhulai and Jhawkanda of Charvadrasan went under water and the district administration opened a flood observation centre Sunday night. A minor boy drowned in floodwater at village Rashid Munshir Dangi. Family members said floodwater washed away the five-year old boy, Azizul Haq, son of Harun Sheikh, Monday afternoon. The administration opened two flood shelters at Godadhardangi Primary School and Sadipur High School of Aliabad union in the district headquarters, where about 1,000 people took shelter. The Department of Agricultural Extension in Faridpur said aus and aman paddy and vegetable fields of North Channel, Decreer Char and Aliabad unions of the Sadar upazila had been under water for past five days. Officials feared crop losses if water stagnation continued for long. Nasir Uddin, upazila nirbahi officer of Sadarpur, told New Age that about 100 acres of agricultural land and 70 houses were engulfed in the past day's erosion of Arial Khan. Aman and sugarcane fields were also affected by rising water, he said. Around 15,000 families of four upazilas in the district have been marooned since last week as the rain-fed river Padma continued to swell. The major river system, Brahmaputra-Jamuna, on Monday kept swelling at a slower rate than the past day and is likely to start falling in next 48 hours, said the flood forecasting and warning centre Monday evening. The Ganges-Padma river system was also swelling at a slow place, inundating more areas, the warning centre said. Water level in the Padma-Jamuna confluence at Goalanda and Bhagyakul also kept rising at a moderate pace disrupting the ferry service between Paturia and Daulatdia. The centre said flooding in Munshiganj, Manikganj, Faridpur, Madaripur and Dohar and Nawabganj of Dhaka could deteriorate slowly. Rivers kept swelling at 42 points, out of the 73 monitoring points. They flowed above danger marks at seven points. The rivers on Sunday had swelled at 38 points and flowed above danger mark at seven points. The Kangsa on Monday flowed 57 centimetres above danger mark at Netrakona, the Surma 25 cm above at Sunamganj, the Padma 42 cm above at Bhagyakul and 39 cm above at Goalanda, the Arial Khan 11 cm above at Madaripur and the Kobadak at Jhikargacha was flowing four cm above the mark.