State Minister for Water Resources Forhad Hossain Azad on Tuesday said the flood situation in different parts of the country is gradually improving as rainfall has eased and water levels in most rivers have started receding.
He expressed hope the rivers that are still flowing above the danger level will also fall below the mark within the next one or two days.
The state minister made the remarks while briefing reporters after an inter-ministerial meeting on disaster management, emergency response and coordination held at the Press Information Department conference room in the capital.
Disaster Management and Relief Minister Asadul Habib Dulu, Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain, Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock Minister Mohammed Aminur Rashid, State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief M Iqbal Hossain and Disaster Management and Relief Secretary Md Saidur Rahman Khan, among others, were present.
Azad said unusually heavy rainfall and runoff from upstream since July 6 triggered flooding and severe waterlogging, particularly in the Chattogram division.
Although Bangladesh receives an average of around 2,200 mm of rainfall annually, intense downpours within a short period caused widespread flooding and waterlogging in the region, he said.
The state minister said he, along with the ministry's secretary and the director general of the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), visited Chattogram on July 12 to inspect the flood-hit areas and assess whether any ongoing water resources projects contributed to the waterlogging.
Referring to the flood situation in Cox's Bazar, he said the district suffered the worst damage, with tidal water overflowing coastal embankments built in the 1960s at four locations, causing breaches.
Emergency repair work is underway at Matamuhuri, Purba Para, Purba Mehernama and Shilkhali with the involvement of local residents, Azad said.
He said in some areas, residents cut embankments themselves to drain accumulated water from inside protected areas. “To prevent such incidents in future, damaged sluice gates will be reconstructed,” he added.
According to the latest data available until 6:00am on Tuesday, the Kushiyara River was flowing 26 centimetres above the danger level at Fenchuganj and 6 cm above at Markuli, while the Surma River at Chhatak, the Someswari River at Kamalakanda and the Teesta River at Dalia were flowing 6cm, 13cm and 7cm above the danger level, respectively, the state minister said.
"However, with rainfall decreasing, water levels in all rivers are gradually receding," he said.
Azad said officials of the BWDB have been instructed to remain on duty round the clock in areas where embankments were damaged to carry out emergency repairs.
He said more than 1,500 flood protection packages were undertaken in vulnerable areas as part of advance preparations for the monsoon season.
Of these, around 500 have been completed while work on about 1,000 others is ongoing, the state minister said.
To tackle any fresh emergency, the ministry has already supplied more than 7 lakh geo-bags, while another 6 lakh geo-bags and over 1 lakh synthetic plastic geo-bags have been kept ready, he added.
"If heavy rainfall or flooding occurs again, the Ministry of Water Resources is fully prepared to protect embankments and safeguard people's lives and property," the state minister added.
He said around 95 percent of the work on a drainage and water management project being implemented under the supervision of the Bangladesh Army in the Patenga area of Chattogram has already been completed. “The project is expected to be handed over to the Chattogram City Corporation by the end of this year.”
Once operational, the project is expected to significantly ease Chattogram's long-standing waterlogging problem, Azad said.