Khulna, July (V7N)- The streets and houses of Khulna metropolis have been flooded by heavy rains. On Friday (July 11) morning rain caused waterlogging in various parts of the city.

Then it started raining. The poor and working class people have suffered due to heavy rain in the morning. Residents complain that the lower part of the city is sinking due to heavy rain. Water jams are forming on the main roads.

Amirul Azad, senior meteorologist of Khulna Meteorological Office, said that rain is due to monsoon. In the last 24 hours, Khulna city has received 97 mm of rain. Out of which 63 mm of rain fell from Friday morning to 12 noon. Rain is likely throughout the day today.

Heavy rains are likely after afternoon, though intermittent now. It has been found that in the rain, Khalishpur Muzgunna, Bastuhara Colony, Housing Area, Phulbari Gate, Religate, Maheshwarpasha, Daulatpur, New Road junction, Alamnagar, Navy Checkpost, Rayermahal, Boyra Bazar, Gallamari, Mylapota, Royal Mor, Tutpara Jora Mill of Khulna city. Bazar, Mahir Bari Khalpar, Rupsa Ghat, New Bazar and some other areas have been submerged in rain water.

Locals complain that there is flooding in the city with little rain. Heavy rain from 6 am to 9 am on Friday caused waterlogging at various intersections of the city. The issue of waterlogging in various roads of the city after about three hours of rain is not new. This has been the case for the last few years.

Common people are facing additional suffering in the roads where the development work is going on. Every day, the mouths of the drains and sewers are being blocked with a large amount of polythene and various kinds of dirt and garbage. Such small problems are becoming the cause of waterlogging of various roads.

'The city corporation does not clean the drains regularly. This is the situation if you clean the drain! Regular cleaning of the drains in a planned manner could have prevented this waterlogging.

According to Khulna City Corporation sources, there are about 1,215 roads within the Khulna City Corporation area, two-thirds of which are submerged in rain water. Khulna City Corporation (KCC) has rebuilt 104 drains in the last six years under the Water Remediation Project.

Re-digging of seven canals including Mayur Nad and renovation of 32 drains is in progress. About 502 crore rupees have been spent on it.

A project named 'Improvement of Drainage System to Eliminate Waterlogging in Khulna Metropolis' was approved by Ekne in July 2018. The project cost was Tk 823 crore. Work on the first phase of the project began in October 2020.

As a result of covering these drains in the new project, the city dwellers are no longer able to throw garbage in the open drains. But due to the lack of modern waste cleaning equipment, the water flow is obstructed by the accumulation of polythene, packets of chips and other wastes flowing in the water flow in these drains.

As a result, it takes time to remove the water from the lower areas. Anisur Rahman, chief conservation officer of Khulna City Corporation, said, "We clean the drain regularly.

Apart from this, once the ongoing projects for the development of the drainage system and the digging of canals are completed, this waterlogging problem will no longer exist.

END/SDA/SMA/