Tens of thousands marooned as 4 Sylhet upazilas flooded

Sylhet, June 28 — Several hundred thousand people of four upazilas remained marooned after torrential rain over the last few days led to the flooding of parts of Gowainghat, Companiganj, Jaintiapur and Kanaighat sub-districts.
Flooding has cut off road communications, inundated paddy fields and fishing ponds.
Most low-lying villages in Gowainghat were flooded after Sari and Piyain rivers overflowed their banks following heavy rainfall.
The Sarighat-Gwainghat road went under water on Friday afternoon, cutting off communication with district town.
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of workers remained unemployed after the stone quarries of Bichanakandi and Jaflong were shut down temporarily several days ago.
In Companiganj, houses, roads of upazila sadar, Parua and volaganj village went under water on Thursday night.
Kazi Jasim Uddin of Ischakal Union said the most houses of Durgapur, Bishunupur, Shibpur, Bagjur, Putamara, Shimultola, Lombakandi, Muradkandi, Kathalbari, Dolkhola, Bahadurpara and Navagati villages were submerged in knee-deep water.
The villagers are having a tough time, he said.
Upazila Education Officer Md Jahirul Haque said the children could not go to schools as the roads had been under water for the last few days. They will be compelled to close schools if the situation did not improve.
In Jaintiapur, the low-lying villages of Nijpat, Jaintipur and Charikata unions were inundated after three days of torrential rain. The river is flowing 47 centimetres above its danger level.
Road communication with the Sadar upazila and district town has been suspended causing immense suffering to the people.
The weather office recorded 56 millimetres of rainfall in the last 24 hours.
Upazila Nirbahi Officer Biswajit Kumar Paul said heavy rain in the last three days led to the overflowing of the river and flooding of some villages. “We are ready to help the affected villagers after enlisting their names. A team is working on it,” he added.
In Kanaighat, residents of various areas are suffering from waterlogging after torrential rain.
The rising water level inflicted damage to products in many shops and gave students a hard time going to schools for the last several days. It has thrown the city’s wastage management into disarray. The waste management system is also in shambles due to the flooding.
Municipal Mayor Nizam Uddin said they have to dig the canals to solve waterlogging. They are trying to execute various plans to solve the problem. -UNB