About 50 to 60 families in Ward No. 5 of Kumarbhog Union in Louhajang Upazila of Munshiganj have been living in inhuman conditions for six months. Knee-deep water has accumulated in houses, courtyards and roads.
It can be seen on the ground that people are suffering greatly due to waterlogging across the area.
Due to prolonged waterlogging, skin diseases, sores, itching, and even dengue and malaria are spreading among children and the elderly.
Local resident Jalil Talukder said, “We have been waterlogged for six to seven months. Waterlogging occurs whenever it rains.
Despite informing the administration many times, we have not received any solution.
Last year, I told Upazila Nirbahi Officer Zakir Sir that he had assured to drain the water, but no initiative has been taken yet.”
Sonia Begum, a housewife from the same area, said, “We have to stay in water all the time.
I am very scared of small children—they might fall! Sometimes snakes even enter the house.”
Abdul Mannan Khan, a prominent businessman in the area, said, “People’s lives and livelihoods are being severely disrupted due to the prolonged waterlogging.
During the rains, water enters houses. If the administration had come to the ground and seen for once, it would have been clear how much trouble people are in.”
When contacted, the secretary of Kumarbhog Union Parishad said, “I don’t know anything about this.”
However, Rina Begum, a female member of ward 4-5-6, said, “We have already taken the initiative.
A drain has been being cleaned for two days. Chairman Lutfar Rahman Talukder has started this work on his own initiative.”
Locals complain that an effective drainage system is essential for a permanent solution to the waterlogging in the area.
Otherwise, they have expressed fear that this suffering will take an even more severe form in the coming monsoon season.