Shawdesh Desk: Sufferings of commuters and residents continued for the third day in Chattogram due to heavy rainfall which caused waterlogging and huge traffic gridlocks in most of the areas of the port city.

Incessant rain also caused landslide in few upazilas across Chattogram on Tuesday, though no casualties was recorded. The only casualty reported occurred in Sitakunda when a tree branch fell on a man taking a bath at a pond.

Rangunia UNO Masudur Rahman said that torrential rain caused landslide in Hosnabad and Kodala union of the upazila but people were safe as the administration had evacuated them to safer places.

Amid heavy rain that continued since Friday night, Chattogram district administration evicted 16 families from Tankir Hill, adjacent to the Amin Jute Mill area.

During the drive, they bulldozed a number of illegal establishments set up at the foot of the hill.

Assistant commissioners (land) Patenga circle Tahmilur Rahman, Chadgaon circle Forkan Elahi and Kattali Circle Md Touhidul Islam conducted the drive on Tuesday noon.

In the Chattorgram municipality area, waterlogging caused by heavy rain led to huge traffic jams stretching from customs intersection to Airport road on Tuesday.

Traffic police deputy commissioner (Port) Tareq Ahmed said that the road in front of Ruby Cement area was now under knee-deep water since Monday.

Vehicle movement on the road remained suspended, though covered-vans and a few trucks were using the road risking their lives.

Due to the ongoing construction work of the elevated expressway on Katgore-Patenga road, one third of the main road was blocked by the construction company.

At different points of this road, big potholes were created which only added enhanced the misery of the road users.

Traffic polices were seen helping the big vehicles to pass carefully through the road while the light vehicles were forced to stop using the road.

Incessant rain also slowed down traffic and people.

In some areas people took one to two hours to cross one kilometers area.

Because city traffic became agonisingly slow, people who travelled to and fro the port city by air were also affected.

Plying of vehicles on many roads posed a challenge due to their worst condition and waterlogging.

In the last few days different flights left the Hazrat Shah Amanat International Airport without the passengers who failed to arrive in time.

The poor condition of the two roads to reach the airport, which is only one hour away from the main city, made the journey unusually longer in the last few days.

Bangladesh Nari Pragati Sangha executive director Rokeya Kabir came to Chattogram on Monday for official work. She started her journey from her office at Nasirabad Chattogram at 4:50pm but reached the airport at 9:10pm. She missed the flight. She was scheduled to go back to Dhaka on Monday at 8:50pm by US Bangla flight.

Patenga Met Office assistant meteorologist Pradip Kanti said that they recorded 109 mms rain in the last 24 hours till Tuesday noon.

Heavy to very heavy rainfall has been forecasted for parts of Chattogram and Barishal divisions in the next 24 hours starting at 10:00am on Sunday.

In a bulletin, the Met Office said rainfall is likely to occur due to active monsoon over Bangladesh.

Local administration remained vigilant in different hilly areas of the port city ready to remove people who have been living at the foot of the hills or in hill pockets, risking their lives amid the potential landslides due to heavy rain.

At present, nearly 700 people have been living in the eight different shelters in Chattogram since Saturday.

At Mahmudabad of Union No 5 in Sitakunda, Chattogram, a man named Md Mohsin, 35, died at noon yesterday when he was taking a dip in a pond. He died on the spot after a branch of a nearby tree broke loose and fell on him.