C T Online Desk: A female student died after falling in a drain in Chittagong’s Hathazari Upazila on Monday amid incessant rain that submerged key streets in the district over the last few days.
The deceased was identified as Nipa Palit, 21, a second year student of Hathazari Degree College and daughter of Uttam Palit.
The city’s drainage system has proven inadequate to cope with the downpour, resulting in water entering many homes and shops, leaving the citizens to endure considerable hardship. It also submerged a number of roads, posing threats to public lives.
Adding to the woes, the meteorological agencies on Monday said there is a chance of heavy to very heavy rainfall in the South-eastern hill basin and adjacent upstream in next 24-48 hours.
Confirming the death, Abu Taleb, a teacher at the Hathazari Degree College said that Nipa was going to the institution to sit for an exam when she fell in a drain at the Badamtal area of the upazila at around 9am Sunday.
He said that the roads were submerged in rainwater. “I have heard Nipa was suffering from epilepsy”, the teacher added. Which is why she might have failed to get back on foot after the fall and died on the spot.
Moniruzzaman, officer-in-charge (OC) of Hathazari police station, said: “A student named Nipa drowned in clogged water while going to the exam hall in the morning. The family said she was an epileptic. We recovered the body and brought it to the police station. An unnatural death case has been filed over the incident.”
The body was sent to Chittagong Medical College Hospital Morgue for autopsy, he added. The actual cause of death will be known after receiving the post-mortem report, the police official said.
In 2021, at least five people died and dozens were injured falling into open drains and canals in Chittagong.
On December 6, 2021, a 10-year-old boy named Md Kamal died falling into an open drain at Sholashahar area.
Earlier on September 28, 2021, a 20-year-old university student went missing after falling in an open roadside sewage drain in the city’s Agrabad Badamtoli area. Later, her body was found around100 feet away from where she fell.
The deceased was identified as Sehrin Mahbub Sadia, daughter of Md Ali, from Boropole of Halishahar area.
The same year, on August 25, a vegetable trader named Saleh Ahmed went missing after falling into a drain in Muradpur area of the city.
On June 30, a CNG autorickshaw fell into the Chashma canal in Gate No 2 area of the city, killing two people, including a woman.
