One lakh marooned in Rajshahi shoals

The meteorological office here recorded 106.2 mm rainfall during the 12 hours till 6pm Thursday evening.

The inundated areas in the city include Shaheb Bazar, Kumarpara, Fudkipara, Pathanpara, Malopara, Shastitala, Sultanabad, Sheroil, Boalia, Hetom Khan, Uposhahar, Bhadra and Ramchandrapur. Shaheb Bazar areas went under two feet water.

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Water entered most of the shops and houses in those areas. Stagnant water created long traffic jams on most of the city thoroughfares.

Sarit Dutt Gupta, chief engineer of Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC), The daily Star that the inundation in the city resulted from choking of drains at Terokhadia and Bhadra points.

"Efforts are on way to clear the drainage system", Gupta said.

The major rivers -- Padma and Mohananda have started falling but are flowing above their danger marks, Water Development Board sources said.

The flood affected people in Rajshahi who took shelter on high lands alleged that they were not getting any relief.

More than one lakh people are marooned in the char areas of the Padma, where acute crisis of food, drinking water and fodder in prevailing.

Curunupnagar, Devinagar, Alatuli, Shahijahamper, Islampur, Charbagdanga, Noraganpur and Sundarpur under the Sadar upazila and Panka, Durlawpur, Monakasha and Uzipur under Shibganj upazila are the worst affected unions.

There is hardly any dry land in these areas.

Talking to this correspondent, 73-year-old Abdur Rahman said, "Padma has taken away all my 20 bighas of land. I am now a pauper."

He said he got no relief so far.

Enamul Hoque of Namobaid-danatpur talked with this correspondent from the rooftop of his thatched house. He said he his family members eat once a day. "I got 12 kgs of rice 12 days ago".

Israil, who lost his homestead to the Padma took shelter on the riverbank along with his eight-member family eight days ago, but got no relief so far.