Staff Correspondent
Only two-hour heavy rain on Tuesday made the life of the city people badly suffer as most of the city roads were submerged from ankle to kneed deep water.
The down-pour left traffic system in total mess in the entire city. The residents experienced a drizzle in the morning which turned into a cascading shower a little after 11am.
"The traffic system of the capital has collapsed as many streets got waterlogged because of lashing rainfall and many vehicles went out of order in the middle of roads due to rainwater," Deputy Commissioner (DC-Media) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Muntashirul Islam said.
In addition, many bus stops were under water and passengers took position on the roads for getting into transport decelerating the traffic which added to the woes of the city people, he added.
The residents of Dhaka observed that many roads and lanes went under knee-deep water mounting the sufferings of the people as they were stuck in the tailback for hours. Waterlogging, tailback and dishevelled roads have now become Dhaka residents' regular nightmare but they seem to be too feeble to change the phenomenal apathy of the authorities, particularly city fathers.
Sulaiman Reyha, a journalist who travelled around the Green Road area to meet his uncle, got stuck in waterlogged road. "Green Road, one of the busiest roads went under knee-deep water," he said.
Abdullah Al Mamun, a Dhaka University Student resides at Bijoy Ekattor Hall, went to new market area and found the both the lanes of the street submerged. Finding Dhanmondi road 27 under knee-deep water, Supreme Court lawyer Nabil Ahsan, sarcastically posted on Facebook, "Free Swimming School ! We believe in self learning and free education. Enroll now, Limited Offer Only! Location: Dhanmondi 27."
Meanwhile, Home Minister Asaduzzman Khan said that there had been traffic congestions in the city for cascading shower and slow movement of the vehicles as some streets got waterlogged.
Due to the onslaught of the heavy rainfall, vehicles virtually got stuck at Old Dhaka's Nazim Uddin Road, Kakrail, Matsya Bhaban roundabout, Shantinagar, Minto Road, Maghbazar, Rampura, Shahbagh intersection, Science Laboratory, Bangla Motor, Sonargaon Hotel intersection, Farmgate, Mohakhali, several parts of Mirpur and many places in Uttara.
Even the road in front of the Prime Minister's Office, on the southern approach to Parliament Building, was not spared from the effect of lashing rain. Moreover, waterlogged Manik Mia Avenue and other important roads mounted the sufferings of the people.
The met office recorded 44 mm of rain in capital Dhaka from 6 am to 3 pm. According to a bulletin of the office, 61mm rainfall was recorded in Dhaka from 6pm of Monday to 6pm of Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the met office hoisted local cautionary signal No. three for Mongla and Payra. Due to strong monsoon, deep convection is taking place over North Bay, a Met Office warning message stated on Tuesday.
It said that squally weather may affect over North Bay, adjoining coastal areas of Bangladesh and the maritime ports. All fishing boats and trawlers over North Bay were advised by the met office to remain close to the coast and proceed with caution till further notice.
The met office forecasted that Light to moderate rain/thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty/squally wind is likely to occur at most places over Dhaka, Rangpur, Rajshahi, Khulna, Barisal, Chittagong & Sylhet divisions with heavy to very heavy falls at places over Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka and Sylhet divisions and with moderately heavy to heavy falls at places elsewhere over the country.
The mighty rain even caused a huge tailback on the Mohakhali flyover.
It was seen that many CNG-powered auto-rickshaws ground to a halt even on VIP streets getting stuck in rain water.
It is learnt that commuters were facing tailback as vehicles had to ply on almost every road slowly which is an effect of the heavy rainfall till the filing of the report around 9.30pm.
The rainfall worsened the suffering of stranded people while students and their guardians were also trapped in jam for hours. Many guardians were seen carrying their children on their laps or shoulders to reach home from schools.
Taking the advantage of rainfall and tailback, rickshaw-pullers and CNG-run auto-rickshaw drivers charged excessive fares taking advantage of transport crisis.