Patuakhali Correspondent:
The obvious low pressure located in North-West Bay of Bengal and adjacent areas has weakened and turned into a low pressure, but due to its influence, flood situation has arisen in Rangabali Upazila of Patuakhali. The low-lying areas of the upazila have been flooded for the third day in a row. The local residents have suffered greatly.
On Friday afternoon, water entered the locality through the broken embankment of Chaulabunia and Charmontaj Union of the upazila due to the tide. Houses, roads and courtyards of Garubhanga, Madhya Chaulabunia, Bibi Howla, Chaulabunia Bazar and Chinabunia of Chaulabunia Union and Charanda village of Charmontaj Union were submerged in it. The inundation washed away the fish in the ponds of many families and disrupted normal cooking.
According to the Meteorological Department, although the pronounced low pressure has turned into a weak low pressure, local warning signal number three is still in force at Payra seaport in Patuakhali. Although the sky was somewhat normal till Friday morning, it started raining later in the day, accompanied by light gusty winds. Locals said that although the water level was slightly lower than on Thursday, they now have to be inundated at every tide due to the broken embankment.
The picture of suffering in this area remains the same every year due to lack of sustainable embankment. The local victims said that their lives have become extremely uncertain as there is no permanent initiative to repair the broken dam.
In this regard, Rangabali Upazila Nirbahi Officer (Acting) Md. Khairul Hasan said, ‘The water development board has been informed about the flooding of the locality by tidal water. They have been requested to take necessary action at the earliest.’
According to the information provided by the Water Development Board, around 3 km embankment in Chaulabuniya union and around 4 km embankment in Charanda area of Charmontaj union have been exposed or broken for a long time.
Kalapara Executive Engineer of Water Development Board. Shah Alam said, ‘Study and verification is underway with the help of IWM for a permanent solution through a new project. Development Project Proposal (DPP) will be submitted after receiving the report. But once the DPP is approved, some time is required to start the work.’