Heavy hill runoff submerges Sunamganj–Tahirpur road, disrupts communication

Continuous rainfall and incoming hill water from upstream have caused the water levels of the Surma River and all other rivers in Sunamganj to rise rapidly. Due to the hill runoff, water from the Rakti River overflowed and submerged a section of the paved Sunamganj–Tahirpur road in the Anowarapur area. As a result, road communication between the district headquarters and Tahirpur upazila has been completely cut off.

On Sunday (June 21) afternoon, rising river water began flooding low-lying areas of the district. By noon, the Surma River had risen by an additional 79 centimeters.

The Sunamganj Water Development Board (BWDB) reported that at noon, the Surma River was flowing at 7.35 meters—45 centimeters below the danger level. By 9 a.m., rainfall in Sunamganj over the past 24 hours was recorded at 20 millimeters. During the same period, Cherrapunji in India recorded 332 millimeters of rainfall. This record rainfall in Cherrapunji is causing the rapid rise of water levels in the Surma and other rivers in Sunamganj.

A resident of Tahirpur upazila, Md. Aminul Islam, said: “I set out for Sunamganj on urgent work, but later heard that the Anowarapur section of the paved road was submerged by floodwater.”

Mofizur Rahman, a resident of Polash area in Bishwambharpur upazila, said: “I was heading toward Anowarapur market on my motorcycle to go to Tahirpur. But before I could reach, I saw the road already submerged, so I had to turn back.”

Tahirpur Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Mehedi Hasan Manik said that due to hill runoff, parts of the Sunamganj–Tahirpur road in the Anowarapur area have been temporarily submerged, causing inconvenience. Since this section of the road is low-lying, it gets flooded every year during the monsoon. However, once the floodwater recedes, the road will re-emerge and traffic will resume normally.

Executive Engineer of the Sunamganj Roads and Highways Department (RHD), Dr. Mohammad Ahad Ullah, said that the eastern side of Anowarapur Bazar on the Sunamganj–Tahirpur road is somewhat low-lying. During the monsoon, hill runoff often floods this section of the road. However, the water does not remain for long, and traffic will resume quickly once it recedes.

In this regard, Executive Engineer of the Sunamganj Water Development Board, Mamun Hawlader, said that if rainfall and hill runoff continue, water levels in all rivers in the district may cross the danger mark. According to weather forecasts, moderate to heavy rainfall is expected for the next three days in Sunamganj and neighboring Meghalaya, India. The situation is being continuously monitored.