1m people marooned in Kurigram

Nearly a million people remained stranded, facing acute shortage of foo and drinking water as the flood situation worsened.

Heavy downpour in the upstream regions adjacent to Bangladesh and in the district pushed up the water level of Brahmaputra and Dharla rivers on Thursday.

Dharla was flowing 73 centimetres above the danger level at bridge point. Brahmaputra, on the other hand, was 36 centimetres above the danger level at Chilmari point in the morning, reports news agency UNB.

The rivers burst their banks and submerged low-lying areas of 50 villages.

Besides, the road from Bangtur Ghat to Phulbari Dam is at the risk of erosion while a 50-foot of Nagrakura dam in Ulipur upazila caved in.

Officials of the Water Development Board, and the upazila administration said steps will be taken to repair the dam immediately.

During this two-week flood, 958,327 people in nine upazilas of the district remained stranded. An estimated 20,000 hectares of cropland are feared to have been damaged.