Low-lying areas in the port city went under water on Thursday due to heavy rain since Wednesday night in the city.
Due to the weather, Patenga Sea Port has been asked to hoist local cautionary signal 3, while the river ports have been advised to show cautionary signal 1.
M Ali Akbar, assistant meteorologist at Patenga Met Office, said that they recorded about 114.6mm rainfall from 9:00am on Wednesday morning to 9:00am on Thursday morning.
The officer also said that about 62mm rainfall was recorded between 6:00am and 9:00am on Thursday alone.
The rain is likely to聽 continue throughout Friday, he said, adding that the situation might improve from Saturday.
The rain triggered water stagnation in the city鈥檚 Bahaddarhat, Bakalia, Chawkbazar, Muradpur Gate 2, Sholoshahar, East Nasirabad, Halishahar, CEPZ, Sagarika, and many other parts were submerged in Chattogram.
City dwellers were seen struggling hard to move out of their homes to meet their urgent needs, while there was huge traffic congestion on roads and flyovers due to scarcity of transports causing suffering to people, especially office-going ones.
In 2017, the Chittagong Development Authority took the initiative to implement a project named Chittagong Water Stagnation Removal Project, aiming to complete the project by June 2020.
Even after over seven years, however, the project remains incomplete, leaving the residents helpless.
The tenure of the Tk5,616.50 crore project was previously extended till June 2023, but only 76 per cent of the work had been completed so far.
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council approved a revision of the project in November past year, extending its tenure again till June 2026 and increasing the cost to Tk 8,626.62 crore.
The project includes renovation of 36 canals, the construction of drainage, girder bridges, culverts and water retaining walls, and the making of reservoirs for flood water conservation.
Most of the city drains linking canals are blocked with garbage, polythene bags and plastic, Lieutenant Colonel Ferdous Ahmed, who is looking after the CDA project, said, adding, 鈥業t is difficult for us to keep the drain free because the canals have become full with garbage again within two days.
When it rains hard, water remains stagnant on the surface due to clogged drains and canals, he added.
Ferdous hoped that within two years the project would be completed and problems of water stagnation would be mitigated to a large extent in the port city.
