“Chittagong is not floating on water, water is floating on Chittagong”
Photo Collected
Facebook wall is filled with pictures of flooding in different areas of Chittagong. Users are adding the speech of Mir Shahe Alam, Minister of State for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Ministry with these pictures. Many are expressing their anger. Some did not stop to mock. Yesterday Wednesday evening, the state minister came to inspect the waterlogging situation and the expansion of Hijra Canal in the Prawartak Mor area of Chittagong and said, “The honorable prime minister and the honorable minister of my ministry have ordered me to visit the ground.” I came and saw and I repeat, Chittagong city is not floating on water. The city of Chittagong remains as it is during the dry season.
The minister also said, “Even though some water accumulated due to sudden heavy rain, the water was drained again at the right time. The water that I myself have walked through is a maximum of 30 feet.
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When this statement of the minister, which was aired in various media and television channels yesterday evening, spread on Facebook, the users reacted angrily. According to the citizens, the state minister came to the intersection which was submerged in water for two days in the evening. What he said about flooding is not correct.
Md. A Facebook user named Nurunnabi Jewel wrote, “Chittagong is not floating on water, water is floating on Chittagong.” Shaibal Acharya wrote, “The state minister did not see water when he came to Chittagong.” Chittagong city is not floating on water. The water you, me, the townspeople have seen for the past two days is all wrong. Only the two eyes of the state minister are true.
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In a post, a person named Imtiaz Fahim wrote, “The Prime Minister expressed his grief directly. It’s enough. The Minister of State should have said without explaining that there was public suffering for the temporary renovation work. We are trying our best to minimize. But now there is a mixed reaction to his speech.
Responding to a comment on a post, Iftekhar Maruf wrote, “Minister is a smart person.” He left after the water receded. He did not go where there was water at that time.
A journalist named Tasneem Hasan has written, ‘People in many areas of the port city have faced terrible suffering and damage due to the continuous flooding of the last two days. But the state minister came through the elevated expressway, treading a little water and said, Chittagong city is normal and beautiful, as it was, as it is.
These comments of Facebook users are similar to the real picture. At least 20 areas of Chittagong city went under water in the first heavy rain of the season last Tuesday. It continued to rain yesterday. The two days of rain caused waterlogging in wide areas including Pravartak, Agrabad, Halishahar, Newmarket, Tin Pul Matha, Bahaddarhat, Chawkbazar, Katalganj, Muradpur, Gate No. 2, GEC, Chandgaon, Jamalkhan, AK Khan, Ispahani Sea Gate, sub-area.
At least 500,000 people have to suffer due to this flood. In some places, the water did not recede for more than eight hours from 11 am, and in some places, it slowly receded after six to seven hours. By that time the roads, alleys and shops were submerged in water and the normal movement of the city stopped. Many roads came to a virtual standstill.
Prime Minister Tariq Rahman yesterday expressed his grief to the residents of Chittagong who suffered due to flooding. He said that the government is trying to bring people out of this problem as soon as possible. Prime Minister Tarek Rahman said this in the National Parliament on this day. He called upon the members of Parliament to take initiatives to increase awareness to alleviate waterlogging.
City Mayor Shahadat Hossain visited the promoter area at noon that day. At the time of his visit, there was water on the road overflowing the Hijra canal in the promoter area. At this time, he said, ‘The flood relief work is being implemented under the supervision of the Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) and the army. However, the responsibility for the suffering of the city dwellers cannot be avoided. I apologize to the people as the mayor.
Many of the local residents complained that there is a big gap between the actual experience at the field level and the government level statement. There is discussion and criticism on social media. But the actual level of inundation was not reflected in the state minister’s statement.
When asked, Akhtar Kabir Chowdhury, Chittagong editor of Citizens for Good Governance (Sujan) told Prothom Alo, “Civil society does not expect such a statement from a person who holds an important position in the elected government.” There are pictures and videos in the media as evidence, more evidence than this. We are all victims. His comments are not acceptable to the civil society.
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