Just 54mm rain swamps Dhaka

It took only 54mm  rain  to turn many parts of the capital into swamps yesterday, disrupting normal life and creating a traffic chaos.

Thoroughfares, lanes and by-lanes were partially or fully submerged in many areas. At places, human waste and dirt came out of sewers.

Most roads in areas including Rajarbagh, Motijheel, Arambagh, Asadgate, Residential Model School, Mirpur, Jhigatola, Hazaribagh, Green Road and parts of Old Dhaka went under ankle-to-waist-deep water due to heavy rain.

According to Bangladesh Meteorological Department, 54mm rainfall was recorded in Dhaka in the last 24 hours till yesterday noon.  Some parts of the country including Dhaka may face more rain today, said Abul Kalam, meteorologist of BMD. There is a depression over the Bay of Bengal, he added.

Rain is occurring at different regions due to the formation of cloud over the country, he said.  River and inland river ports have been asked to hoist distant cautionary signal-1, he said.

The depression over the east central and adjoining west central Bay of Bengal has moved west-northwestwards and now lies over the same area, and there are chances it may turn into a deep depression.  It is likely to intensify further and move in a west-northwesterly direction, BMD said in a special weather bulletin in the morning.

Yesterday, city dwellers had to suffer much due to waterlogging. At places, buses, cars and three-wheelers haphazardly inched forward throughout the day. Many vehicles broke down being stuck in water.

Traffic policemen, who were manning some important intersections, seemed helpless.

The sufferings of people worsened due to road renovation and construction works of different projects in different parts of the city.

On the other hand, rickshaw-pullers charged high even for a very short distance, cashing in on the situation.

"I  could not get a rickshaw from Asadgate [near Aarong] as the place went  under knee-deep water," said Jamal Ahmed, a private job holder, who works at Farmgate.

Rashed Hasan, a resident of Jhigatola Natun Rasta, said he had to return home with his bike due to almost waist-deep water. "Eventually, I hired a rickshaw at a high fare to get to work," he added. "I had to pay Tk 110 to go to Farmgate, which usually takes Tk 70."

Many residents said as work for storm water drainage is going on in the area, rainwater mixed with mud and sewage worsened the situation. 

Auto-rickshaw driver Monir Hossain said in many place their vehicles broke down due to being stuck in water, which is why he decided to call it a day.

Waterlogging in Dhaka after rain is nothing new and experts have termed this it a collective failure.

Of the total drainage lines in the capital, 385km are under Dhaka Wasa. This key utility service provider is also responsible for the maintenance of 26 canals with a total length of 74km and box culverts of 10km.

Among the other government agencies that are also responsible include the two city corporations that manage some 2,500km of surface drains, the deputy commissioner's office that owns canals and many waterbodies, and Rajuk, which owns city lakes including Hatirjheel and is the custodian of many flood flow zones and retention areas.

Besides, Bashundhara Residential Area authorities and Cantonment Board are two entities who have autonomy in water management in their respective areas.