Dhaka’s focus
Bangladesh leader Muhammad Yunus’ visit to China this week marks a critical moment in South Asian geopolitics.
At least 108 people have died due to excessive flooding triggered by incessant rains and a deluge from Himalayan rivers in India and Nepal, according to disaster official on Sunday.
“The floods caused the deaths of 108 people in 16 districts and widespread damage to habitation, crops, roads and highways across vast swathes of the country”, Senior official of the country’s National Disaster Response Coordination Centre (NDRCC) told Xinhua news agency.
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According to the NDRCC’s daily flood situation report, “the official, on condition of anonymity, said most victims have drowned but some died in boat capsizes in the flood-hit areas”.
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“Thousands of people have been affected in the districts while rising water levels of the major rivers left people stranded in water-logged areas, putting them at risk of water-borne diseases”, authorities said.
The districts affected by floods include Shariatpur, Rajbari, Manikganj, Munshiganj, Netrokona, Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Khagrachhari, Bandarban, Rangamati, Feni, Bogra, Gaibandha, Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, Sylhet, Sunamganj, Moulvibazar, Kurigram, Jamalpur, Sherpur, Brahmanbaria, Tangail, Sirajganj, Habiganj, Faridpur, Chandpur, and Madaripur.
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had earlier urged officials to remain alert to tackle flood, saying some parts of the country have been flooded and the floodwater would slowly come down to the mid areas of the country by the end of August.
Bangladesh is regularly flooded during the June-September monsoon as hundreds of rivers that feed into the Bay of Bengal burst their banks.
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