Different parts of the capital went under ankle to knee-deep water following heavy downpour over the last couple of days.
Pedestrians and commuters of the city had to suffer for the second consecutive workday yesterday due to the waterlogging caused by the intermittent rain.
At around 11:30am yesterday, this correspondent found hundreds of commuters, office-goers and students accompanied by their parents stranded on roads in Shantinagar and Malibagh areas that went under knee-deep water following the rain.
Due to the waterlogging, vehicles were moving slowly, causing severe traffic congestion in the area. Many commuters were seen walking through the murky water with in barefoot with their clothing lifted above the water.
“Since the roads were clogged with heavy traffic, I had to get down from the car in the rain in a rush to catch up with the school hour,” said Sumaya, a seventh-grader at Viqarunnisa Noon School.
Raisa, a sixth-grader at Siddheshwari Girls' High School, said, “Getting stuck on the road, I was getting late for my exam. So, I got down from the rickshaw van, got drenched in the rain and waded through the waterlogged road to get to school.”
It rained 17 millimetres since 6:00pm till midnight on Sunday and 22 millimetres since 6:00am till midday yesterday in the capital, according to the meteorological office.
When asked about the cause of the waterlogging in Malibagh, Mouchak and Shantinagar areas, Taqsem A Khan, managing director of Wasa (Water and Sewerage Authority), blamed it on the scattered construction materials of the under-construction Moghbazar-Mouchak Flyover.
According to transportation experts, water congestion on the heavily busy roads instantly leads to traffic tailback because clogged water due to inadequate drainage facility submerge a significant portion of the functional roads. Motorists, apprehending probable mishaps, attempt move over and drive their vehicles on the visible portion of the road, resulting in tailbacks, they explained.
Syed Wahidul Haque, a resident of Mohammadpur, said students, guardians and office-goers are facing untold sufferings as different roads, dug up for construction of underground storm sewer lines, turned muddy after the rain.
Amin Hossain, a resident of Mirpur Gudaraghat, said the main road connecting Nawaberbagh was dug up for road development.
The excavated earth piled up on the side of the road turned into mud following the rain, he said. “In case of an emergency like rushing a patient to hospital, the situation becomes horrible.”
An engineer of Dhaka Wasa preferring anonymity told The Daily Star that the city commuters' plight worsens with the unusual volume of rain, as the underground storm drainage system is not adequate for even usual volume.
Moreover, many areas in the capital were dug up to lay large diameters of storm sewer lines, adding to the public sufferings, he said.
Out of around 2,300km of storm drainage system in the capital, 360km is maintained by Dhaka Wasa while the rest by two city corporations, according to Wasa sources.
Apart from the capital, in around six hours since the morning till midday yesterday, 64 millimetres of rain was recorded in Tangail, 35 millimetres in Khulna, 26 millimetres in Mymensingh, 20 millimetres in Netrokona, 25 millimetres in Madaripur, 24 millimetres in Chuadanga and 16 millimetres in Faridpur, according to the Met office.