Sylhet Correspondent:

Despite the slight improvement in the flood situation, there are still 10.43 lakh people stranded in Sylhet, according to data released by the Sylhet district administration.

Flood water in the eastern districts of Sylhet and Sunamganj has begun to recede slowly as the incessant rainfall has finally stopped after nearly a week and river water level decreased marginally.

On Friday (21 June), locals also enjoyed a bit of sunshine after a long period of gloomy weather.

“As there has been no rain on Friday, flood water has begun to recede slowly. If there is no rainfall or onrush of water from upstream in the next few days, the flood situation will improve fast,” Deepak Ranjan Das, executive engineer of Sylhet Water Development Board, said.

As the flood water receded, some 3,000 people have returned home from shelter centres in the last 24 hours, according to Sylhet district administration data. At present, some 25,275 people are staying in shelter centres.

District officials said water level in Surma and Kushiyara – two of Sylhet’s major rivers – have also continued to decrease since Thursday (20 June).

According to Water Development Board data, the water of the Surma River was flowing 16 cm above the danger limit at Sylhet Point and 65 cm above the danger limit at the Kanaighat Point on Friday.

On the other hand, Kushiyara River water was flowing 61 cm above the danger limit at Amalsid Point, 13 cm at Sheola Point, 1.2 cm at Fenchuganj and 24 cm at Sherpur Point.

On top of it, there has been no significant rainfall in India’s Meghalaya state, from where water flows to Sylhet. This has also contributed to the improvement in the flood situation.

However, according to meteorologists, there is a fear of rainfall on Saturday, which might worsen the flood situation.

“It did not rain anywhere in Sylhet from Friday morning to noon. But there are clouds in the sky. As a result, there is a possibility of rain for the next two days,” said Shah Md Sajib, assistant meteorologist at the Sylhet meteorological office.

10.43 LAKH STILL MAROONED

Despite the slight improvement in the flood situation, there are still 10.43 lakh people stranded in Sylhet, according to data released by the Sylhet district administration.

At least 136 municipalities and villages of Sylhet district, including 29 wards of the Sylhet City Corporation, have been hit by the recent flood.

This is the second time Sylhet is experiencing heavy flooding this year.

Earlier in May, Sylhet’s Gowainghat, Companiganj, Jaintapur, Kanaighat and Zakiganj were battered by flood. In the second phase, all of Sylhet has been submerged.

20 RIVERS TO BE DREDGED IN SYLHET, SUNAMGANJ

The government will dredge 20 rivers in Sylhet and Sunamganj to protect districts from early floods, State Minister for Water Resources Zahid Faruk said today (21 June).

“In the meantime, 12 out of 15 kilometres of dredging work on the Surma River have been completed. The remaining section will be dredged once the flood waters recede,” the minister said while visiting the Surma River at Keane Bridge area in Sylhet city this morning.

“I have instructed the local Water Development Board and the Sylhet City Corporation’s chief engineer to conduct dredging across all necessary rivers and canals.

“This dredging will enhance the rivers’ capacity to hold water flowing down from upstream,” he added.