Waterlogged road or a death trap?

Four pedestrians, including three of a family, were electrocuted to death last night on a submerged road near Mirpur Commerce College after heavy rain created waterlogging in several areas in the capital.

"The incident occurred near Mirpur Commerce College around 10:30pm. They died of electrocution as an electric wire broke and fell on the water on the road," Mohammad Mohsin, officer-in-charge of Mirpur Police Station, told The Daily Star.

The deceased are Mizan, an autorickshaw driver, his wife Mukta, their seven-year-old daughter Lima and another man named Anik.

The couple's six-month-old child, who was also injured in the incident, was receiving treatment at the Dhaka Shishu Hospital.

The Mirpur OC said that the family lived in the Jhilpar slum area on Hajipara road. They got electrocuted while trying to cross the road. Anik was electrocuted while trying to save them.

After intermittent rain all day, a heavy shower in the late evening inundated a large part of the capital, flooding streets and causing the traffic system to almost collapse.   

Streets in Dhanmondi, Elephant Road, New Market, Mirpur, Banani, Eskaton, Green Road, Panthapath, Shewrapara areas were submerged.

Even Manik Mia Avenue and Mirpur Road near Dhanmondi-27 were waterlogged and gridlocked as late as 2:00am today.

Scores of vehicles were seen broken down on submerged streets.

Many took to social media to express their frustration over being stuck in traffic for hours on end or being unable to wade through waist-deep water on certain streets.

People, mostly returning home after work, were seen taking shelter in front of various offices, markets, and shopping malls. They had serious trouble finding transport home.

Akash Roy was on the way to his Uttara home from Farmgate. He was stuck near Bijoy Sarani for two hours. He then decided to go towards Shewrapara where his CNG-run auto-rickshaw broke down on a street under knee-deep water.

Hafiz Mollah, who went to Karwan Bazar to buy fish in the evening, got stuck there until around 11:00pm. While trying to return to his Mirpur home, he got stuck on Manik Mia Avenue for over an hour. Then he started walking.

The Meteorological Department recorded 113mm of rain from 6:00pm to 12:00am yesterday, said Omar Faruq, a meteorologist of Bangladesh Meteorological Department.

Moderate to heavy rains are expected till today due to a low pressure in the northwest Bay of Bengal and surrounding areas, the meteorologist said.