Container handling at Chattogram Port jetties slowed down and unloading of goods at the outer anchorage stopped on Sunday as incessant rain battered the city and port areas over the past three days.
The waterlogging situation around the port city has worsened since it started raining in the city on Friday and was continuing till the filing of this report on Sunday evening.
Patenga Weather Observatory Centre said it recorded 218 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours until 9am Sunday.
“Heavy rains have slowed down container handling at the port compared to normal days. Unloading of goods at outer anchorage has also been suspended,” Chattogram Port Authority Secretary Omar Faruk told The Business Post.
He said unloading of products that may get damaged if they get wet has also been stopped. However, the water level did not rise at any jetty of
the port.
Meanwhile, people suffered severely on the first working day of the week as vehicular movement was heavily disrupted due to waist or knee-deep water on different roads around the city. The nonstop rain also left numerous houses in low-lying areas inundated.
Commuters were forced to pay extra fares to travel in rickshaws. Many vehicles travelled from the Bahaddarhat intersection to Lalkhan Bazar via flyover to avoid the water and that led to massive gridlocks throughout the day on the flyover.
The waterlogged areas included Halishahar, Agrabad CDA and Shantibagh residential areas, Chhoto Pol, Bahaddarhat, Chawkbazar, Dewan Bazar, Khalifa Patti, Muradpur, Sholoshohor No 2 Gate, Badurtala, Shulokbohor, Kapasgola, Mohammadpur, Katalganj, Bakolia, Firingibazar, Chandgaon, Tin Pooler Matha, Riazuddin Bazar, Chaktai, Khatunganj, Faridapara, Mushipukurpar and Boro Pol.
Traders said vegetable shops in Chawkbazar, Bahddarhat and Riazuddin Bazar were left inundated while rain and the stuck water heavily damaged some shops at the Khatunganj wholesale market.
“Moderate to heavy rain is occurring in Chattogram and surrounding areas due to low pressure. There is a risk of landslides in hilly areas,” said Assistant Meteorologist of Patenga Meteorological Office Ujjal Kanti Pal.
Meanwhile, due to the fear of landslides, the district administration has evacuated 800 families from their homes in hilly areas and taken them to shelters as of Sunday evening.
The administration started conducting operations in those areas on Saturday evening to move people at risk to shelters.
The district’s Deputy Commissioner Abul Basar Mohammad Fakhruzzaman said they are working hard to save people from landslides, which are frequent during monsoon.
“Our teams are working every day to make everyone aware of the possible landslides. The families living at risk in the hills have been instructed to move into 19 shelters,” he added.
