Vehicles running through water caused by incessant rains in Arambagh area of the city yesterday. -Mostafizur Rahman
Incessant rains for two days due to a low depression in the Bay of Bengal have brought much of Dhaka city to a standstill. People and vehicles are few and far between on the streets.
Parts of the capital, including Malibag, Rajarbag, Mouchak, Shantibag, Gulbag and Mominbag are waterlogged. Waters have risen past the footpath on roads from Kakrail's Nightingale Restaurant to the Paltan Model Police Station.
Abdul Halim, who works at an NGO in Motijheel, was waiting for transport in Kakrail with an umbrella and his pants rolled above his knees. "I came from Rampura. The rickshaws are charging a lot more. None of the rickshaw pullers wanted to go from Rampura to the Bangladesh Bank area for less than Tk 100. What else can we do but walk?"
Many of the smaller roads and alleys in Malibag's Chowdhurypara are waterlogged, Halim said. The footpath from Malibag to Mouchak is usually crowded with hawkers in the morning, but was clear yesterday. "It is a very bad day," said tea vendor Hakim Uddin. "I sold nothing yesterday and it seems like I won't get much today either."
Stores in the Malibag and Mouchak area are also closed because of the rain. Many of the roads in Gulbag, Shantibag and Mominbag are also underwater.
Few of the regular clothing hawkers have set up their stalls in the Baitul Mukarram area. "Sales are almost gone because of the rain," said footpath clothing vendor Fazlul Haque. "I only sold five T-shirts yesterday. I have no idea how we will make it through the day."
Haque says he usually sells about 40-45 T-shirts. Restaurant workers on the Malibag and Paltan roads say they have few customers because of the rain. Though schools, colleges and public offices and courts are closed yesterday, many school and college students have coaching classes. Many from the Malibag area go to Farmgate for coaching.
Students waiting for transportation say they had to pass waterlogged streets on their way to class.Higher secondary students Afzal Ul Haque and Rifat Karim said they had been waiting over half an hour for a bus to their coaching center in Farmgate, whereas many transports are available on most days.
Dhanmondi Road 27, Shukrabad, Farmgate and Indira Road area are also flooded, with water levels reaching waist-high in some areas. "Water has collected all around us," said Mirpur 60 Feet area resident Mariam Muna. "I was to go to Mirpur - 1 but had to stay home because of the knee-high water."
Though 60 Feet area is at a higher elevation, there is still waterlogging. Residents of the capital's Badda, Rampura, Khilgaon, Shabujbag, Basabo and Jatrabari say that many areas are flooded.
Central Badda resident Ishtique Hassan said he faced waist-high waters attempting to go to work in Motijheel. He managed to get to the main road, only to find his regular Gulistan route bus was not running. He had to take a different route.
Travelers from Rampura to Madartek, Trimohoni and Demra also faced difficulties. Sohel Mahmud says he has been waiting at the Rampura Bridge for half an hour without getting a bus to Demra.
Trader Farook Ahmed, who headed from Banasree to Kamalapur, said, "On the way to Kamalapur, I saw waist-high waters at Malibag's Chowdhurypara. The road from the Khilgaon DCC Market to the Abul Hotel Market is also flooded. No transportation is passing through. That's the situation at the Malibag Rail Gate."
Roads in Jatrabari, Matuail, Kajla and Demra are also under water. Water has also collected on both sides of Airport Road. Though there were fewer vehicles on the road compared to other days, there was traffic congestion from the Army Stadium to the Kakoli Intersection around 12pm.
Uber users are also facing difficulties. Some of the drivers are asking them to pay for the distance covered by the car before pick-up in addition to the fare for their route.
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