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🇧🇩 Bangladesh /Disasters & Emergencies

Unplanned Development Fueled Severe Flooding, Environmental Group Alleges

From Daily Star · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • An environmental organization alleges that unplanned development, including a railway line, exacerbated severe flooding in three hill districts between 2023 and July this year.
  • The organization cited encroachment on rivers, canals, and wetlands, alongside hill cutting and deforestation, as contributing factors to the disaster.
  • The floods affected over a million people across 17 districts, damaging croplands and infrastructure, and causing at least 55 deaths.

An environmental group has blamed unplanned infrastructure development for intensifying severe flooding and waterlogging in Bangladesh's three hill districts. Dhoritri Rokkhay Amra (Dhora) stated that the Chattogram-Cox's Bazar railway line was a significant factor in the disasters that struck between 2023 and July of this year.

"Encroachment on rivers, canals and wetlands, loss of navigability, unplanned road and infrastructure construction, hill cutting, deforestation, and climate change have collectively intensified the disaster," said Dhora Member Secretary Sharif Jamil at a press conference. The organization highlighted that continuous rainfall from July 7 to 12, flash floods from upstream areas, and rising transboundary river levels contributed to the widespread flooding.

Encroachment on rivers, canals and wetlands, loss of navigability, unplanned road and infrastructure construction, hill cutting, deforestation, and climate change have collectively intensified the disaster

— Sharif JamilDhora Member Secretary Sharif Jamil explained the factors contributing to the severe flooding and waterlogging.

Dhora reported that the floods impacted at least 17 districts, affecting over a million people. Specific figures showed approximately 600,000 affected in Chattogram, 158,000 in Cox's Bazar, 108,000 in Rangamati, 83,500 in Bandarban, and 136,000 in Kurigram. Thousands of hectares of cropland and significant infrastructure, including roads and bridges, were damaged across these regions.

The organization also reported a tragic death toll, with at least 55 people losing their lives in Chattogram, Cox's Bazar, Bandarban, and Rangamati. Dhora Co-Convener MS Siddiqui reiterated the group's stance, emphasizing that disaster severity was amplified by human activities and poor development planning.

disaster was aggravated by unplanned development and other human activites

— MS SiddiquiDhora Co-Convener MS Siddiqui reinforced the organization's view on the causes of the disaster.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Daily Star in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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