Incessant rain for the last three days submerged low-lying areas in Satkhira district, causing immense sufferings to people.
Thousands of families are now facing shortages of drinking water, cooking facilities and proper sanitation.
According to Satkhira Meteorological Office, the district recorded a total of 272mm of rainfall as of noon, including 102 mm in the past 24 hours alone. The downpour has inundated most municipal wards, creating severe disruptions in daily life.
Worst-hit areas include Kamalnagar, Itagachha, Madhumollar Dangi, Mehedibagh, Rasulpur, Baddipur Colony, Roychpur, Katiar Madhya Para, Rathkhola, Rajarbagan, Godaibil, Mathpara, Par Machkhola and Puraton Satkhira.
Local resident Nazmul Hasan from Itagachha Bilpara said water is unable to drain into rivers as sluice gates remain closed and nearby water bodies have been blocked by fish enclosures. “Now there’s water everywhere; inside homes and on the roads,” he said.
Rickshaws and pedestrians alike are struggling. Students are facing delays in reaching exam centers. HSC candidate Afsana Mimi said, “Even tubewells are underwater, we're forced to buy drinking water,” she said.
Social worker Sajedul Islam blamed irregularities in canal excavation. “The embankments were artificially raised to show fake depth. As a result, water can’t flow out and floods the residential areas during heavy rains,” he explained.
Senior lawyer Fahimul Haque Kislow criticized local leadership, saying, “Satkhira residents have been suffering like this for years. Elected officials only show up during elections. Now they say the contractors fled after the government fell—so no work was done.”
He emphasized the need for sustainable drainage solutions, “Without removing fishing nets, keeping sluice gates operational, properly dredging canals to actual depth, and repairing embankments, this crisis will persist.”
Satkhira Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Shoaib Ahmad stated that 50 kilometers of canals and irrigation channels were restored in the 2024–25 fiscal year. “We will open the sluice gates and create an outlet to Pransayer Canal to ease the waterlogging,” he added.
For now, the residents of Satkhira continue to wait for long-term drainage planning and realistic solutions to escape the cycle of seasonal suffering.
