Deep depression in north Bay moves to India
The deep depression that formed in the north Bay of Bengal on Wednesday, moved over to the Indian state of Jharkhand and Gangetic West Bengal yesterday, the Met office said. With this, strong winds blowing over the Padma at Shimulia also subsided, and ferry services between the terminal and Kewrakandi resumed, 23 hours after they were stopped on Wednesday. Ferries carried transport, particularly trucks bringing supplies from the south-west for the city markets, sources in the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) said. Speedboats that carry passengers also began plying, along with passenger launches. An official of the BIWTC that operates the ferry services said they were running almost in full strength. Out of 17 types of ferryboats, 14 were plying and three were undergoing servicing.
Further upstream at Paturia, passenger launches resumed services, ferrying passengers between Daulatdia and Paturia since yesterday morning.
But the local cautionary signal no. 3 for the maritime ports of Chittagong, Coxs Bazar, Mongla and Payra has remained in force, with fishing boats and trawlers under warning not to venture into the sea but negotiate it cautiously, staying close to the coast, as a pressure gradient has formed and squally winds were blowing there, the Met office said.
Although the Padma was back to its normal flow, the Ganges continued to rise at Pankha, where it enters Bangladesh taking the name Padma at Chapai Nawabganj. But it has not gone to the extent of its flood levels.
However, the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) said the river may keep on rising, carrying floodwaters from the upstream in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, for the next 48 hours, and pose problems for low-lying areas in its downstream at Rajbari and Munshiganj.
Even low-lying areas around the capital and the rivers girdling it may rise, the FFWC said.
