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Rain-induced flood wrecks havoc

Dhaka collapses in heaviest rain in 50 years; 17 killed in four days; over 500 fishermen missing in Bay

STAR DESK
Four days of record downpour petered out into a drizzle yesterday evening, but Bangladesh reeled from floods that killed at least 17 people, adjourned parliament, forced the closure of schools, offices and businesses and played havoc with transport.
Dumped with 341 mm of rain in 24 hours until yesterday morning in the heaviest continued rains in 50 years, Dhaka was still sloshing with floodwaters that sent many places, including Motijheel commercial heart, under chest-deep water.
Arjumand Habib, deputy director of the Meteorological Department, said the well marked low sat near Jessore at 8:00pm yesterday and was slowly moving towards India's West Bengal state.
The situation is likely to improve tomorrow, she said.
The government asked the chiefs of utility services to take immediate steps to fix depression-induced damage to their services.
It also clumsily closed government, semi-government and autonomous bodies in Dhaka and lowered bus fares to tackle the situation.
Scenes of only a few vehicles negotiating the swamped roads close by stranded vehicles and
people wading to the main roads through knee- to waist-deep water raising their hemline dominated the cityscape.
Dhaka's previous record of 274 mm of rain on September 16, 1966, paled beside the current spell triggered by a low that transformed into land a depression and ravaged southern and central Bangladesh with rains and gusty winds from Saturday night.
In some areas, rainwater entered ground floor houses and submerged shops.
Parts of Dhaka's drainage system collapsed.
Submerged manholes and potholes in roads became dangerous hidden traps for rickshaws, the only vehicles to be seen on most streets. DEATH COUNT
The depression-induced death count rose to at least 17 yesterday with the retrieval of four more bodies from the Jamuna in the wake of a motor boat capsize on Sunday.
Fishing trawler associations in Cox's Bazar and Barisal said about 500 fishing men went missing when their vessels sank in the rough Bay of Bengal.
The boat, ferrying between Sirajganj sadar and Kazipur, capsized in the turbulent Jamuna with about 60 to 70 passengers on board. Eleven bodies were recovered until yesterday.
Five men and a woman were electrocuted and a man died in wall collapse in Dhaka.
Power in many parts of the city was suspended to prevent further accidents.
The fishermen went missing after their trawlers sank or disappeared in the Bay of Bengal at the height of the storm triggered by the depression on Sunday and Monday.
Business in Dhaka's Motijheel commercial hub was in disarray with non-stop rain and flooding that stopped people from reaching their workstations.
After reaching offices with sufferings, they came to know about the government announcement of rain holiday.
The prime bourse of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) that struggled to protect its servers on the ground floor from floodwaters was unlikely to open before Saturday.
"We had to shut down the main server today (yesterday) and place it on higher ground to prevent water from reaching it," DSE Chief Executive Officer Salahudin Ahmed told The Daily Star yesterday.
The impact of DSE shutdown was also felt on the Chittagong Stock Exchange as the Dhaka clients could not participateinits trading.
Abdul Awal Mintoo, president of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said the rains dealt another blow to the economy brought to its knees by the worst flooding in 15 years that hit Bangladesh this monsoon.
Some flights were delayed by several hours at Zia International Airport after plane crews faced difficulty to reach the airport, Ahsan Hossain Kazi, an airport official said yesterday.
The inclement weather disrupted air communication between the capital and the northeastern city of Sylhet.
The GMG airlines cancelled two flights yesterday on back of two by Biman since Monday, causing sufferings to people.
River transport on 28 river routes from Dhaka, Barisal and some other southern river ports remained suspended for the third straight day
yesterday.
Dhaka University postponed all examinations under its annual course system, except for the 1st year BSC examinations of home economics colleges, until September 25.
Fresh dates of the examinations will be announced soon, a university press release said yesterday.
The BIWTC headquarters in Dhaka ordered the suspension as a cautionary measure in view of a series oflaunch capsizes in recent years.
Two trawlers carrying daily newspapers sank in strong currents in the Padma river at Paturia in Manikgonj yesterday, leaving a man missing.
Local newspaper agents said Wasim, 28, a transport worker of the Daily Janakantha, went missing in the capsize.
Several hundred thatched and adobe houses collapsed in Puthia, Bagmara, Tanore, Godagari and Paba in Rajshahi district in the rain and storm.
The rain also destroyed aman paddies and banana, papaya and potato plantations in the district.
Speaker Jamir Uddin Sircar adjourned the current session of parliament until 5:00pm today because of the inclement weather, a parliament secretariat announcement said.
Earlier, Sircar adjourned the House until 5:00pm yesterday.
Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation yesterday announced 50 percent fare discount of its city service buses until further notice considering people's suffering.
Asked by Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan held an emergency meeting with chiefs of utility services and asked them to take immediate measures for restoring the services, taking the help of navy if need be.
Khaleda asked Bhuiyan for immediate steps as she came to know that gas, electricity and water supply and telephone lines were disrupted in many areas because of the rains.
Authorities of Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) said they took alternative steps to continue water supply in different areas as heavy rains stopped 42 water pumps.
They claimed they began pumping out standing water in different parts of the capital and started supplying fresh water to city residents in the waterlogged areas byits vehicles.
A Wasa official said almost the entire city was under water and its drainage system was unable to pump out such a huge amount of water in so short a period.
A BBC correspondent in Dhaka said there were concerns about sewage contaminating the city's clean water supplies and the effect of flooding on poorer people.
Dhaka Mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka said the floodwaters would take atleast 24 hours to recede.