Heavy downpour at dawn leaves roads waterlogged across Dhaka
Torrential rain began in Dhaka early today, Friday continuing from shortly after 5:00 am until just before 7:00 am.
The downpour caused waterlogging on roads in several parts of the capital, including Green Road, Karwan Bazar, Panthapath, the road beside Rabindra Sarobar in Dhanmondi, Jigatala, West Tejturi Bazar, West Shewrapara, Mirpur 10, Kazipara, Malibagh Railgate, Mouchak, Maghbazar and the Madhubagh section of Hatirjheel.
As it is a public holiday, traffic was lighter than usual, which reduced public inconvenience to some extent. However, water remained on many of these roads even after 8:00 am.
Journalist Dawd Islam faced difficulties while travelling to work from Jigatala to Karwan Bazar in the morning. He said rainwater rose up to the footrest of his rickshaw, forcing him to lift both feet while seated. Even then, splashing water soaked him during the journey, and he has to spend the rest of the day at work in wet clothes.
Media professional Fatema Tuz Johora also encountered difficulties while commuting from Khilgaon to Karwan Bazar. She said no buses were available because of May Day, forcing her to complete the journey in two separate rickshaw rides. Due to the rain and waterlogged streets, rickshaws were difficult to find. She had to walk through dirty floodwater in Malibagh before finding transport, and the fare was double the usual rate.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) said rainfall is likely in parts of six divisions today, with more rain expected in the capital. Water levels in rivers across several north-eastern districts may continue to rise as a result.
The met office on Thursday issued a 48-hour forecast warning of heavy rainfall across six divisions—Mymensingh, Dhaka, Sylhet, Chattogram and Khulna. It said some areas in these divisions could experience heavy to very heavy rain.
Rainfall started in different parts of the country since Sunday, bringing relief from a heatwave that had persisted for more than a week. Widespread rainfall continued from Tuesday night until Friday morning, although continuous rain eased after Thursday morning.
The highest rainfall recorded on Thursday was 60mm in Sitakunda. The previous day’s highest rainfall was 121mm in Khepupara. The rainfall has led to a noticeable drop in temperatures across the country. The highest temperature recorded Thursday was 31.6 degrees Celsius.