Heavy rains lead to severe flooding and waterlogging in Barishal  

Heavy rainfall from 13 September to 15 September, including a peak of 177 mm on 14 September, has caused significant flooding and waterlogging in the lower areas of Barishal due to low pressure over the Bay of Bengal.

Several key areas of Barishal, including Sadar Road, Circular Road, College Row, Kaunia Industrial Area, Amanatganj, Rupatali Housing, Sohraf Housing, Tiakhali, Navgram area, almost all parts of the city have been submerged, reports our correspondent. 

The water levels in the Kirtonkhola River did not exceed their usual limits. However, much of the 58 square kilometres within the Barisal City Corporation area has been waterlogged. The situation is notably worse in the Bottola area, where waterlogging is twice as severe compared to the Battola to Chowmatha road.

Abul Hossain, a small businessman said, "We are waterlogging during the monsoon season. No storm floods are necessary for water logging here. A light rain in the sky or a tide in a river actually sinks into the water." 

Once the water levels rise, they tend to remain high for 3 to 4 days, with little chance of quickly receding. While some of the water evaporates with the sun and some is absorbed into the soil, the absence of proper drainage prevents effective removal of excess water. Local resident Mahmud Hossain pointed out these issues.

Ismail Hossain, a resident of Shah Poran Sarok near the Nathullabad bus terminal, said that waterlogging was not a problem in the area just 5 to 6 years ago. He attributes the current flooding issues to the filling in of several large water bodies to make way for new government offices. Hossain believes that this development was carried out in a way that intentionally worsened the flooding situation.

Although discussions & criticisms were made about water logging, the city authorities did not take the initiative to solve it. Experts say that the crisis of artificial flooding has been created due to the failure of the responsible institutions to work together.

Chairman of Coastal Studies and Disaster Management Department of University of Barishal, Hafiz Ashraful Haque said it is unfortunate that there is water logging in Barishal town on the banks of Kirtonkhola River. 

When the structures are constructed, guesswork is done by the ignorant without consulting the experts, he added. 

Sub-Assistant Engineer of Water Research Department of Water Development Board Barishal MD Masum said the nip tide of a few days means that the water in the rivers is flowing below the danger level because it is between the new moon and the full moon. 

He said besides 24 active canals, there were more than 3000 public and private ponds in Barishal city. But canals & ponds have been killed. Moreover, as the city does not have a planned drainage system, the rainwater takes a long time to reach the river. DAP has proposed to conserve and operationalize reservoirs in Dhaka city. 

Sub-Assistant Engineer MD Masum said that not only people are involved in this artificially created waterlog. Government institutions are also directly involved. Opposite Nuthullabad bus terminal in the city, the building of the Department of Environment, construction of Sheikh Kamal IT Training Center, passport office, Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education - all the buildings have been built by filling the reservoir. 

Residents are blaming the city authorities for creating an unbalanced situation in the city by filling canals and ponds and constructing structures. 

Barisal Divisional Coordinator of Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) Lincoln Bayan said the recent rainfall in Barishal should not have caused such unbearable water logging. But the water logging that has been created, will not go down even after 4 to 5 days after the rain stops. Because the canals and ponds flowing through our city have been killed. People littered and blocked it. Water can't come down.

Citing information from the City Corporation, Lincoln Bayan, Barisal Divisional Coordinator of Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA), said, 68 km of drainage system is needed in a city of 58 square kilometers. In reality there is no more than 30 km of drainage. Of the 30 km of drainage that has been constructed, not even 5 percent is ok. As a result, water logging is unlikely to occur.

Admitting the water logging, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Barishal City Corporation, Israel Hossain, said that the work of digging 7 important canals in the city has already been started to overcome the problem. Besides, work is going on to improve the drainage system.

Khalid Bin Walid, executive engineer of Water Development Board Barishal, said that the problem is that the city's canals, drains and ponds have been filled, starting from multi-storied houses to roads and businesses. Homesteads and roads are waterlogged with little rain or tide. 7 canals have already been dug through the Water Development Board at a cost of TK9 crore to avoid water logging. Due to this, water logging has reduced a lot.

He said it is important to keep the drainage system of the city functioning. Drains should be cleaned every year. Besides, the process of re-digging the canals flowing through the city should be continued.