Moulvibazar, June 17 – Many areas of the Moulvibazar district town nearby villages, on Northeastern Bangladesh, went under water on Sunday due to a breach in the town protection dam along the Manu River. Water started to enter the town from 12:30 am when a 30-foot portion of the dam broke down due to the heavy pressure of water.
Meanwhile, at least five people died as they were washed away by flood water in the district in the last four days, and thousands of people got stranded in flooding in four Upazila of Moulavibazar district in last several days following rain and onrush of hilly water.
The deceased were Sattar Mia, 55, Kamal Mia, 40 and Karim Mia 25. Identifies of two others are yet to be known.
Confirming the casualties, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Moulavibazar district Ashrafur Rahman said the army has joined efforts to rescue stranded locals in the four Upazilas from last night.
The sudden onrush of water engulfed many areas of the town and at least 50 nearby villages.
Moulvibazar municipality, Baroikona, East and West Borohat, Borokapon, Dharkapon, Shekhergaon, Darok, Khidur, Gobindasree, Shahbandar, Sreerampur, Ghorua and Mostafapur were among the affected areas.
Business establishments and educational institutions in the affected areas were shut down while people were seen wading through waist-deep water.
Army, Water Development Board, municipality and the local administration were working to fix the dam.
District Food Officer Manoj Kanti Chowdhury feared that water may enter four food silos if its level continues to rise. “There’re 1,568 tonnes of rice and 424 tonnes of wheat in the four warehouses. Food grains might be damaged if silos were submerged,” he said.
Meanwhile, water started to recede from many areas in Kulaura, Kamalganj, Rajnagar and Sreemangal Upazilas as the water the level of the Manu river fell further but still remained above the danger mark.
The river was flowing 154 cm above the danger level at Chadnighat in the town on Sunday, shedding only 5 cm from Saturday.
The affected people were suffering for lack of safe drinking water, food and shelter. In the four Upazilas, some 3.16 lakh people still remained marooned.
Meanwhile, the flash flood caused by incessant rain inflicted untold sufferings of on people in flood-affected areas of Sylhet district.
The embankment along the Kushira River broke down at nine points inundating most of the villages in Balaganj Upazila.
The water started to enter land on Sunday after the embankment of Radhakona village broke down, locals said.
The nonstop downpour for the last several days along with onrush of hilly water from the Indian state of Tripura has stranded thousands of people in four Upazilas- Kamalganj, Rajnagar, Kulaura and Moulavibazar Sadar Upazilas of the districts.
The water of river Monu had overflowed into the Moulvibazar sadar upazila breaking flood control dams.
The flood caused paucity of drinking water and food. Road communications of Moulvibazar has been halted with four upazilas and Sylhet. GW Newsdesk with UNB
