Abul Qasem Sikder says he has never witnessed such severe waterlogging earlier than. He blames it on the construction of the avenue, the four-lane hyperlink avenue from the Laboni intersection to the Kolatoli build of dwelling, a key fragment of Cox’s Bazar’s tourism zone.
“As a consequence of the avenue, waterlogging has become a current occurrence throughout heavy rainfall,” Abul Qasem, president of the Cox’s Bazar Resort-Motel Customer Home Householders’ Affiliation, told TBS the day gone by.
“The four-lane avenue became once built greater than the outdated avenue and has narrower drains. Additionally, the drains were lined with slabs, obstructing the drift of water. The avenue’s assemble did now not offer a accurate pathway for rainwater to empty into nearby rivers or the sea.
“Furthermore, soil from nearby hills has stuffed up the drains, further exacerbating the downside. Several heavy rains closing July furthermore inundated the resort-motel zone,” he acknowledged.
Beforehand unaffected by waterlogging, the Kolatoli build of dwelling has been inundated four times within the previous three months.
Most recently, three consecutive days of heavy rainfall, including Friday’s document-breaking rain, flooded among the town and about 200 villages within the district, with water yet to move from a number of areas.
Several areas, including Bazarghata, Borobazar, Anderson Avenue, Tekpara, Burmese Market, Buddhist Temple Avenue, and Goldighirpar, skilled severe waterlogging.
The flooding affected stores, places of work, companies, and submerged thousands of homes. Talking to TBS, residents voiced their issues over the worsening downside.
“The 5-kilometre famous avenue of Cox’s Bazar town is within the identical condition as the hyperlink avenue,” acknowledged Ayazur Rahman, president of Cox’s Bazar Bachao Andolon and a senior lawyer.
“It took greater than three years to restore this avenue, and it became once elevated by nearly three feet, which left companies and markets at a lower degree. The drains associated with this avenue are clogged with rubbish and particles, and the slabs overlaying them discontinuance cleansing.
The elevated avenue now obstructs the drift of water from the southern areas to the northern Bakkhali River, causing severe waterlogging throughout heavy rainfall and landslides.”
Cox’s Bazar Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise President Abu Morshed Chowdhury Khoka in an identical design blamed the avenue tasks for the waterlogging within the town.
“The unplanned, strangely high, slab-lined avenue tasks, worth about Tk6 crore, own now become the aim within the abet of suffering. These roads own blocked the drainage plot, ensuing in recurrent waterlogging throughout rainfall,” he acknowledged.
Sifat, a businessman at Motel Labonee Market, reported that his institution has been flooded four times within the closing three months as a result of the blocked drains. “This suffering is the result of poorly deliberate construction tasks,” he acknowledged.
The four-lane 71-feet avenue from Laboni intersection to the Kolatoli build of dwelling became once constructed by Cox’s Bazar Roads and Highways Division. Work on this mission began in November 2019. It became once inaugurated in December 2022.
The mission, valued at Tk288 crore, integrated a 10-foot central divider and 6-foot drains on both facets. Of the allocated funds, Tk90 crore became once paid as compensation for land acquisition, whereas the rest became once frail for avenue construction.
The different mission, renovation of the town’s famous avenue from Vacation Mor to Bazarghata through Larpara Bus Terminal, became once utilized by the Cox’s Bazar Style Authority. The mission, costing Tk298.14 crore, became once initiated in July 2019 and became once inaugurated in December 2022.
Ridwan Ali, coordinator of the Cox’s Bazar Nagorik Forum, neatly-known that there were stable protests against making the famous avenue abnormally high throughout its renovation, nevertheless they were left out.
“The construction of the avenue with closed drains lined by slabs design it’s a long way now not going to be cleaned, ensuing within the recent downside. The residents are now bearing the brunt of this negligence,” he acknowledged.
Meanwhile, the rainfall in Cox’s Bazar diminished just a minute the day gone by when put next to Friday.
Whereas water has receded from most waterlogged areas within the town, some 200 villages during six upazilas, including Sadar, stay inundated.
Assistant Meteorologist Abdul Hannan of the Cox’s Bazar weather office reported that 210 mm of rainfall became once recorded within the 24 hours from midday Friday to midday Saturday.
The outdated 24-hour interval seen 501 mm of rainfall—the ultimate in Cox’s Bazar’s history, surpassing the 437 mm recorded in August 2015.
With the minute lower in rainfall, the downside within the town has improved, and water has receded from roads, seaside areas, and market zones in Kolatoli.
On the other hand, eight low-lying areas, including Samitypara, Kutubdiayapara, Fadnardeil, and Nuniyachara, are restful submerged.
