Flood in North: 1 lakh people affected in four districts

The water level in the Teesta may begin to fall tomorrow while the swelling Jamuna may cause floods in vast areas of Sirajganj, officials said.

Floods caused by the Teesta are currently affecting almost 1 lakh people in Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Nilphamari and Rangpur districts, they added.

This is the fourth time the Teesta has flooded villages on its banks this year.

If the Teesta water does not recede in a day or two, Aman paddy cultivated near the banks in the districts may get damaged, said Biplab Kumar Mohanta, deputy director at the Department of Agricultural Extension in Kurigram.

Rahmat Ullah, 70, of Gobardhan area of Aditmari in Lalmonirhat, yesterday said he and his family members have only eaten puffed rice, molasses and bread since Friday night, when part of his house and his kitchen got inundated, making it impossible to cook.

Another farmer named Nabir Hossain, 65, of Rajahar upazila of Kurigram, said he left his flooded home on Saturday and took shelter in a hut made of plastic sheet on an embankment.

Administration officials said they were distributing dry food and drinking water among the people.

The Teesta was flowing 30 centimetres above the danger level in the Kaunia area of Rangpur yesterday morning, according to the Water Development Board (WDB).

As a result, neighbourhoods in the low-lying areas of Rajarhat, Ulipur and Chilmari upazilas have gone under water.

Meanwhile, the rising level of water in the Jamuna is a major concern for the people in Sirajganj, WDB officials said.

The water in the Jamuna had risen by 17cm in a day, said Ranajit Kumar, a sub-divisional engineer at the WDB in Sirajganj, yesterday.