‘No fear of Chittagong flooding like Sylhet’

Heavy rains continue to lash the port city of Chittagong, leaving roads waterlogged and adding to the suffering of the locals. Despite the continuous rain, there is no fear of a massive flood like that of Sylhet hitting Chittagong, according to government officials. 

“Chittagong does not have as many hill slopes as other cities. We are not expecting a massive flood like the one that hit Sylhet right now. In addition, the Chittagong-based river water flow is average,” said Shojib Chakroborty, the district relief and rehabilitation officer (DRRO) of the deputy commissioner’s office. 

Despite his claims, the continuous heavy rain has left the roads, houses and shops flooded. 

The rain that began on Thursday, had the city completely submerged by Saturday and the number of flooded areas is still increasing. 

The incessant rain has left many people in Chittagong city and its surrounding upazilas stranded in shelters or stuck in their own homes. 

“We have allocated Tk10 lakh and 10 metric tons of rice for Chittagong city, and Tk20 lakh and 100 metric tons of rice for upazilas, through the Chittagong City Corporation and district administration,” said DRRO Shojib. 

Meanwhile, the Chittagong Meteorological Department reports that Chittagong experienced 241 mm of rain on Monday. 

According to the Meteorological and Geo-Physical Center Deputy Director Syed Abul Hasanat, Chittagong received a record amount of rainfall in the 24-hour period till 3pm on Monday. 

“We are hoping that the heavy downpour will stop in a few days. The western pressure has passed across our region with Monday's rain. It will shift north of the Himalayas,” he said. 

He added that heavy rainfall is likely to give way to light rain in the upcoming days. 

‘Cut power supplies to hills’

Meanwhile, cutting off power supplies to the hills to evict those living in the foothills was taken at a meeting on Tuesday.  The Chittagong Hill Management Committee held its 24th meeting chaired by Chittagong Divisional Commissioner Md Ashraf Uddin.

The divisional commissioner indicated that if the power supply to the hills was cut off, it would be easy to evict the people who live in the foothills.

“After that, no one would live in the hills without electricity. We've instructed the power department to turn off the power,” he said. 

He added that in accordance with the law, barbed wire fences would be erected in the newly evicted areas. He said that those living at the foothills will be placed under the shelter program where houses are provided for them.