Heavy rain causes waterlogging, power disruption in two DU halls

Continuous heavy rain triggered widespread waterlogging across various areas of Dhaka University on Sunday, forcing authorities to cut off power connections to Bangladesh-Kuwait Friendship Hall and Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall for safety reasons. Thousands of residential students face extreme hardships as knee- to waist-high water submerges the two women's halls, while flooding across the campus has forced several departments to cancel classes and postpone examinations. An afternoon visit of the campus was seen extensive flooding around the administrative building, teachers' club, central playground, Mukti and Democracy Arch, VC Chattar, Mathematics Building, Curzon Hall, Nilkhet area, Palashi intersection, Nawab Sir...

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Continuous heavy rain triggered widespread waterlogging across various areas of Dhaka University on Sunday, forcing authorities to cut off power connections to Bangladesh-Kuwait Friendship Hall and Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall for safety reasons.

Thousands of residential students face extreme hardships as knee- to waist-high water submerges the two women’s halls, while flooding across the campus has forced several departments to cancel classes and postpone examinations.

An afternoon visit of the campus was seen extensive flooding around the administrative building, teachers’ club, central playground, Mukti and Democracy Arch, VC Chattar, Mathematics Building, Curzon Hall, Nilkhet area, Palashi intersection, Nawab Sir Salimullah Muslim Hall, and Muhammad Shahidullah Hall.

In the area adjacent to New Market, waist-high and neck-high water trapped residents inside the gates of Bangladesh-Kuwait Friendship Hall and Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall.

“We have never had so much water in a year. The area in front of New Market has turned into a sea. The situation worsened with heavy rain since morning. When it rains like this, we have to stay in a waterlogged state,” said Taslima Jannat, a resident student of Kuwait-Maitree Hall.

She added that students had to get completely wet to attend morning classes and criticised the administration for lacking a proper plan to drain the water.

Tasnim Akhter Alif Nabila, vice president of Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall Sangsad, noted that the power outage left students unable to charge their mobile phones.

She warned that another two to three hours of rain would push water into the ground floor rooms. Farzana Rahman, another resident of the hall, highlighted food shortages caused by the closure of internal shops and expressed feelings of helplessness shared by students in the two women’s halls.

Flooding also hit male residential quarters, including Sergeant Zahurul Haque Hall and Nawab Sir Salimullah Muslim Hall. At Muhammad Shahidullah Hall, water accumulated up to chest height on the grounds and spilled onto the balconies of ground floor rooms. Residential student Mohammad Junaid Abrar noted that while the canteen remained open, staff had to deliver food directly to the residential blocks.

The waterlogging disrupted the university’s academic calendar, forcing the cancellation of classes in the International Relations, Mass Communication and Journalism, Bengali, and Botany departments. The Institute of Education and Research also postponed scheduled examinations for the 2021-22 academic year.

Elsewhere on campus, the continuous downpour uprooted a large blackthorn tree on the mall premises, damaging several nearby trees though causing no casualties.

Students have urged the university administration to take effective measures to drain the water quickly and find a permanent solution to the recurring issue.

Heavy rain uproots old tree at DU

DU Pro Vice-Chancellor (Administration) Prof Mohammad Almojaddede Alfesanee acknowledged that the two women’s halls submerge whenever heavy rain occurs, adding that the administration has a plan for a permanent solution and will soon visit the sites to take necessary measures.

Returning recently from the United Kingdom, DU Vice-Chancellor Prof ABM Obaidul Islam decided to inspect the campus as soon as possible.

“We have arranged adequate drinking water in the halls. The university administration is alert to see if there is any problem with food preparation,” the VC said, confirming that the electricity supply to the two halls remains temporarily disconnected for safety reasons.