Photo: BSS

By Md Aynal Haque

RAJSHAHI, Sept 8, 2026 (BSS) - From the floor of the house to the kitchen - dirty water everywhere. Carrying children in their arms, stepping on bricks to somehow move around; as night falls, panic sets in, and another spell of rain might submerge the last remaining shelter over their heads.
 
Recently, for 11 consecutive days, about 60 families in Shahapur village of Huzuripara Union in Paba Upazila of Rajshahi were waterlogged in such a helpless situation. This suffering has been long-standing
 
On Monday, Paba Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Ibnul Abedin finally showed the way to liberation from that curse of 22 years of waterlogging with a one-day initiative.
 
Standing at the scene despite adverse weather and rain, he arranged to drain the water by cutting through government khas land and a khas pond.
 
Within a few hours, the stagnant water started to recede. The people of Shahapur started to dream of freedom from their long, waterlogged lives.
 
Visiting Shahapur village on the ground on Monday, it was seen that water was knee-deep all over the courtyards of the houses.

In some places, knee-deep; in some places, even more water. To go out for essential work, children and women have to wade through the water. Many families have kept furniture inside the house raised on bricks and wood.
 
A resident of the village, Tayab Ali, said there was water on the floor of their houses, courtyard, and the cooking area as well. "We couldn't sleep at night. We were most afraid for the small children."
 
He further said, 'We were trapped in water on all sides. After suffering like this for 11 days, now that we see the water receding, it feels like a big stone has been lifted from our chests.'
 
Another resident of the village, Saiyab Ali, said this village has had a waterlogging problem for 22 long years. Rainwater used to go to the big beel (wetland) through the government khas pond. But as the water passage got blocked, now the whole village gets submerged."
 
He said the new initiative opened the way to a solution in one day for a problem that had not been solved in 22 years.

UNO Md. Ibnul Abedin said waterlogging has occurred in different areas of the upazila due to the season's highest rainfall of 99.4 millimeters.
 

However, as the water drainage path in Shahapur was closed, people's suffering was prolonged. Arrangements have been made to drain the water by cutting through government khas land and through the khas pond.
 
He said, 'In the dry season, a permanent water drainage system will be made here by constructing a drain, so that in the future the people of this area will never have to fall into such suffering by being waterlogged.'
 
Huzuripara Union Parishad Chairman Shahidul Islam said the people of the village were in extreme suffering for the last 11 days. Now the people of Shahapur have been freed from the long-standing waterlogged condition.
 
Present at the time were Assistant Commissioner (Land) Mohammad Mehedi Hasan, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Karnahar Police Station, Md. Habibur Rahman, and Huzuripara Union BNP leader Majdar Rahman.