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2<br />
MONDAY, JULY 3, <strong>2017</strong><br />
DT<br />
News<br />
Flash floods wreak havoc in<br />
Moulvibazar, Sylhet<br />
• Saiful Islam, Moulvibazar and<br />
Mohammed Serajul Islam,<br />
Sylhet<br />
DISASTER <br />
As monsoon rains once again cause<br />
rivers in the northeast parts of<br />
Bangladesh to swell, flash floods<br />
have struck again.<br />
Vast tracts of Moulvibazar and<br />
Sylhet have become inundated for<br />
the third time this year due to the<br />
flash floods and the following onrush<br />
from the hills.<br />
200,000 people stranded in<br />
Moulvibazar<br />
The flood has submerged some 29<br />
unions of Moulvibazar’s Kulaura,<br />
Juri and Borolekha upazilas.<br />
Most of the houses, schools and<br />
roads are now underwater, stranding<br />
some 200,000 people.<br />
The recent flash flood has taken<br />
a heavy toll on the farmers and<br />
fishermen of the surrounding areas<br />
as they had no necessary precautions<br />
for such an untimely disaster.<br />
In March, the rivers Sonai, Kontinala,<br />
Juri and Kushiara became<br />
overflown and caused a flash flood<br />
which submerged vast swathes of<br />
land in Sunamganj and Moulvibazar.<br />
The series of frequent natural<br />
calamities have pushed the dwellers<br />
of these areas into a serious<br />
crisis.<br />
Local farmers have incurred a<br />
huge loss due to the damage of the<br />
Boro paddy caused by the March<br />
flood. And the recent flash flood<br />
has put another nail in the coffin of<br />
their fortune inundating the seedbeds<br />
of Aush and Aman paddy.<br />
Locals in Fenchuganj upazila, Sylhet are forced to shop groceries on a boat as all the roads are now inundated in flood water.<br />
This is the third time in <strong>2017</strong> that Sylhet has been struck by flash flood<br />
DHAKA TRIBUNE<br />
Many of the government offices<br />
that were supposed to resume yesterday<br />
after Eid vacation are also<br />
submerged. Officials were seen using<br />
boats to go to their offices.<br />
The government has been distributing<br />
relief materials among the<br />
affected people through various<br />
disaster management programmes<br />
such as Gratuitous Relief (GR),<br />
Vulnerable Group Development<br />
(VGD) and Vulnerable Group Feeding<br />
(VGF), yet the allocation is very<br />
scarce compare to the demand.<br />
Kulaura Upazila Parishad Chairman<br />
AFM Kamrul Islam has urged<br />
the government to announce this<br />
region as a crisis-stricken area and<br />
take immediate steps to resolve the<br />
crisis.<br />
Moulvibazar Water Development<br />
Board’s Executive Engineer<br />
Bijay Indra Sarker told the Dhaka<br />
Tribune that the rainwater flowed<br />
down to the rivers Sonai, Kontinala<br />
and Juri through hundreds of hilly<br />
channels.<br />
“The water of the Hakaluki haor<br />
passes through the Kushiara River.<br />
But the water level in the river<br />
is flowing 29cm above the danger<br />
limit, causing the excess water to<br />
overflow the banks of the river,” he<br />
added.<br />
Minister Nahid visits flood areas<br />
Education Minister Nurul Islam<br />
Nahid flew to Sylhet yesterday<br />
afternoon and visited his electorate<br />
in Golapganj. The minister is<br />
scheduled to continue his visit<br />
through today.<br />
Awami League to distribute relief<br />
on <strong>Monday</strong><br />
A five-member delegation led by<br />
Awami League Organising Secretary<br />
Md Misbah Uddin Siraj is<br />
15 WDB officials,<br />
46 others sued<br />
for crop losses<br />
• Himadri Shekor Vodro,<br />
Sunamganj<br />
CURRENT AFFAIRS <br />
The Anti-Corruption Commission<br />
(ACC) has sued 61 people including<br />
15 Bangladesh Water Development<br />
Board (BWDB) officials over the<br />
losses of crops in Sunamganj.<br />
ACC Assistant Director Faruq<br />
Ahmed filed the case with Sunamganj<br />
Sadar police station against<br />
the BWDB officials of Sunamganj<br />
and Sylhet, and 46 contractors and<br />
their associates yesterday.<br />
Sunamganj BWDB Executive Engineer<br />
Afsar Uddin, Sylhet BWDB<br />
former superintendent engineers<br />
Nurul Islam Sarker and Md Abdul<br />
Hye are among the accused.<br />
Harvest of 166,612 hectares of<br />
land was inundated and 400,000<br />
Haor people were affected in the<br />
recent flash flood in the district. •<br />
scheduled to visit the inundated<br />
areas in Sylhet today.<br />
Siraj will be accompanied by<br />
Central Working Committee member<br />
Badaruddin Ahmed Kamran,<br />
Sylhet Awami League President<br />
advocate Lutfar Rahman, General<br />
Secretary Shafiqur Rahman Chowdhury<br />
and AL MP Mahmud-us-<br />
Samad Chowdhury.<br />
Awami League General Secretary<br />
Obaidul Quader urged all<br />
Awami League leaders and workers<br />
in Sylhet to do everything in their<br />
power to assist the relief distribution<br />
programme. •<br />
Report: Northern Bangladesh is<br />
likely to experience flood<br />
• Abu Siddique<br />
FORECAST <br />
The water level of the Brahmaputra basin is likely<br />
to rise above danger level in the next few days, a<br />
monitoring agency forecast.<br />
The Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre<br />
(FFWC) based their assessment on the trend of<br />
the rainfall in the upper catchment of the river in<br />
India’s Assam and the incessant heavy rainfall in<br />
the upstream that has been continuing for the last<br />
couple of days.<br />
“If the rainfall continues like this, Bangladesh<br />
might experience a flash flood in the northern districts<br />
beside the Brahmaputra banks – commonly<br />
known as Jamuna in Bangladesh,” said Sazzad<br />
Hossain, executive engineer of FFWC.<br />
According to the Indian Meteorological Department,<br />
the Assam and Meghalaya states there will<br />
experience heavy to torrential rainfall till <strong>July</strong> 06.<br />
Under the influence of the heavy rainfall in the<br />
upstream from the last few days, the water level<br />
of another major river system in northern Bangladesh,<br />
Teesta, has been flowing 5cm above the<br />
danger level.<br />
FFWC also reported that the water level of Brahmaputra<br />
might likely to rise in the next 24 hours.<br />
Meanwhile, the water level of the Surma-Kushiyara<br />
river system in the northeastern part of the<br />
country is above danger level in the last two days<br />
due to the rainwater coming down from upstream.<br />
FFWC in its flood summary that was issued on<br />
Sunday morning said the Surma is flowing 67cm<br />
above the danger level at Kanaighat area, and the<br />
Kushiyara is flowing above 77cm, 72cm and 24cm<br />
of danger level at Amalshid, Sheola and Sherpur-Syhet<br />
areas respectively. •<br />
Flood shuts down 175 schools<br />
in Sylhet<br />
• Mohammed Serajul Islam, Sylhet<br />
DISASTER <br />
The flood in Sylhet has forced 175 educational institutes<br />
to shut down. Among them, 162 are primary<br />
schools and the other 13 secondary schools.<br />
Sylhet Primary Education Officer Nurul Islam<br />
told the Dhaka Tribune that three schools each<br />
in Fenchuganj and Beanibazar have been turned<br />
into shelters for the time being. He said the<br />
schools have been instructed to resume classes<br />
as soon as the floodwater recedes.<br />
Secondary Education Officer Gulzar Ahmed<br />
Khan added that 25 secondary schools are also<br />
waterlogged, in addition to the 13 schools already<br />
flooded.<br />
Flooding in six upazilas commenced on Friday.<br />
The Relief and Rehabilitation Office has allocated<br />
127 tonnes of rice and Tk2.77lakh in cash for aid.<br />
The Water Development Board said that as<br />
of 3pm yesterday, the major rivers in Sylhet had<br />
surpassed the danger level. The Surma is flowing<br />
54cm above the danger level in Kanaighat, the<br />
Kushiara is flowing 74cm, 88cm and 23cm above<br />
the danger levels in Sheola, Amalsid and Sherpur<br />
respectively.<br />
Md Sirajul Islam, executive engineer at the Water<br />
Development Board, said the weather forecasts<br />
predict rain, which may aggravate the conditions.<br />
Sylhet Deputy Commissioner Rahat Anowar<br />
called for several emergency meetings yesterday.<br />
He said the Surma and Kushiara rivers have<br />
flooded Zakiganj, Beanibazar, Golapganj, Osmaninagar<br />
and Balaganj.<br />
The DC said the administration is working to<br />
set up flood shelters and provide relief to the affected.<br />
•