The Padma, swollen with the extra load of water from the Ganges flowing through the state of Bihar in India, has triggered floods in the north-western and south-western parts of the country. It may continue to rise slightly throughout the next 24 hours, the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) said yesterday. The Padma, in retreat after its normal cycle of floods, left thousands trapped in Chapai Nawabganj, Rajshahi, and Kushtia districts, after all the gates of the Farakka Barrage were suddenly opened to relieve the Bihar floods.
It also led to further swelling of the Gorai at Kamarkhali and Hardinge Bridge in Kushtia as well as the Kobadak in Jessore, which is linked to the Padma and the Gorai through an intricate channel of irrigation canals in the Ganges-Kobadak project.
The Gorai at Kumarkhali in Kushtia rose by 1cm to go 9cm above its danger level. The Kobadak was flowing 112cm above its danger level after a fall of 3cm. Meanwhile, a low-pressure trough over the west-central Bay of Bengal has extended to the northern Bay. This extension of the trough may cause increased rainfall in the next 72 hours, Met Office sources said yesterday.
The rains may exacerbate the plight of thousands along the flooded banks of the Padma, whose pressure downstream in Shariatpur triggered a heavy erosion of its banks, with strong currents devastating the homes and croplands of the people.
The strong currents of the Padma not only increased erosion but also threatened the flood protection embankment of Faridpur, which caved in at a stretch. Upstream at Rajshahi, the river also threatened the flood protection embankment at several points in the low-lying areas of Poba and Bagha upazilas, reports said.