People suffer as brief shower floods Dhaka

Many important roads in the capital were inundated after over an hour-long heavy rain yesterday noon, causing immense suffering to commuters.

lanes and by-lanes were also partially or fully submerged in many areas. People had to cross these roads by walking amid dirt and human waste that floated out of sewers.

Traffic movement on flyovers were also disrupted. On the Mouchak-Moghbazar flyover, water was found logged at places.

The Bangladesh Met office said the rain, caused by active monsoon, started on Thursday noon and has continued in intervals till yesterday. It is likely to rain in the city over the next day or two.

Dhaka saw a total of 46mm rainfall from 12:00pm to 2:15pm, according to the Met office.

People suffered more in areas where road renovation and construction work of different projects, including the Metro Rail, were ongoing.

On the other hand, rickshaw-pullers cashed in on the situation and charged high fares even for short distances.

Visitors, officers and staffers at the Secretariat faced hurdles, as the area was submerged. Many were seen walking barefoot on the road adjacent to the Secretariat.

Asmaul Husna, a commuter, said, “I had waited for about half an hour hoping the water would recede. But there was no sign of it. So, I started walking.”

After office hours ended, huge traffic tailbacks were created on different link roads to the capital’s banking hub – Motijheel, which too was submerged.

Rikta Richi, a banker, said that whenever there is heavy rainfall, the traffic in the area turns into a mess.

It took her one and half hour to reach her Shantinagar residence from Motijheel.

“Had I walked, I would reach earlier but there was no scope due to water logging,” she added.

Hundreds of people were seen waiting at different points including Karwan Bazar and Farmgate to avail public transport. Buses were seen jampacked and moving at a slow pace.

While riding amid knee-deep water, some motorcyclists were seen falling over on the roads, losing control over their motorbikes.

“Politicians boast of development, while in after an hour-long rainfall, the roads turn into river,” said Tousif, while pulling up his motorcycle from water at the Shahjahanpur intersection.