Public Sufferings Mount As Floodwater Abating

The overall flood situation is improving in the north and north-eastern regions of the country, although the plight of the citizens is getting worse.

The floodwaters are receding rapidly from the areas since the water rates in the main rivers have declined considerably in the past few days.

Water rates have begun to decline in the Brahmaputra, Jamuna, Ganga, Padma and Meghna basins and will continue in the next 72-48 hours, said Arifuzzaman Bhuiyan, Executive Engineer of the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC).

As a consequence, the flood situation in the northern and central regions will slowly improve and the situation is likely to become usual by mid-August.

The north-east and south-east regions rising again suffer floods at the end of the month due to severe monsoon rains, he added.

The water level in the Ganges River decreased by 1 cm at Rajshahi, 3 cm at Hardinge Bridge and 1 cm at Talbaria points this morning, while the water level in the Padma River decreased by 17 cm at Goalunda base, Arifuzzaman Bhuiyan said.

The water level in the Jamuna River decreased by 13 cm at Sariakandi in Bogura and at Kazipur at Sirajganj points , respectively, and 8 cm at Sirajganj base, and the river flowed 20 cm, 31 cm and 13 cm below the danger marks at Sariakandi, Kazipur and Sirajganj locations, respectively, this morning.

Bhuiyan also reported that the water level in the Gur River had further decreased by 6 cm at Shingra point in the Natore district and that the river was flowing 52 cm above the danger mark.

Of the 16 river points in the Ganges and Brahmaputra basins, the water levels are dropping at 15 points, he said.

People impacted by flooding in the western, northeast, upper and lower central regions have suffered from severe food scarcity, clean drinking water and fuel oil, while policy aid is too inadequate to satisfy their needs.

At least 161 people have died in flood-related accidents so far. For these, 146 drowned and 15 died for snakebite, according to reports at the Health Emergency Operations Center of the Director General of Health Services (DGHS).

Lack of proper relief distribution is also causing sufferings for the people. There are also allegations of irregularities in relief distribution. The relief is yet to reach the people of remote areas in the flood-hit regions.

People are suffering from diarrhoea due to acute crisis of pure drinking water, said Dr. Ayesha Akhter, assistant director of the National Health Crisis Management Centre.

A total of 9,988 people were infected with diarrhea, 6,156 with skin disease, and 3,254 with respiratory tract infection (RTI) in flood-affected regions as of August 7, sources reported at the Health Emergency Operations Centre.

While, the erosion of the river bank has accelerated due to the high stream of water in the river.

Incidents of riverbank erosion have been recorded from about 55 points in the main rivers of the Kurigram, Gaibandha and Lalmonirhat districts.