Heavy monsoon rains wreak havoc in Bangladesh's capital

Heavy rainfalls that started Monday night as monsoon became extremely active over the North Bay of Bengal, submerged many streets and some low-lying areas in Bangladesh's capital city Dhaka on Tuesday.

It created huge traffic gridlock with scores of vehicles going out of order.

Heavy downpour exposed the pitiable conditions of Dhaka's drainage system. Roads, lanes and by-lanes experienced serious water-logging problem. No casualties or injuries have been reported so far.

Major roads were feet deep in water and residents of the capital's old part and other low-lying areas reported ground floors were submerged and waist deep flooding in the streets outside.

Most three-wheelers, auto-rickshaws and taxi-cabs avoided running on the roads that are vulnerable to water stagnation fearing the risk of being stranded. Many vehicles remained stranded in knee-to-ankle deep water in many places.

Rickshaws, however, emerged as a means of relief in the water- logged areas. Rickshaw pullers were seen charging excessive fare from the passengers.

Many people were seen to await for buses at different points of the city in the evening while returning to home.

Buses were scarcest on some major roads as most vehicles were stuck at the traffic gridlock in some commercial hubs in the afternoon.

Weather forecast says a deep convection is taking shape over the North Bay due to strong monsoon, and squally weather may affect adjoining coastal areas of Bangladesh.

According to the Sept. 1 bulletin of the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB)'s Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre ( FFWC), the rivers around the Dhaka city are in rising trend which may likely continue in next 72 hours.

In the next 48 hours, it said, the overall flood situation in the places of the districts of north, central and north-eastern part of the country may deteriorate. Endi