Many people have already left their homes and took shelter in their relatives' houses as the vast DND area has gone under knee to waist-deep water.

The residents in the waterlogged area are suffering from scarcity of pure drinking water. Gas and electricity crises have added to their miseries.

In the Dhaka portion of the DND embankment area, the water supply line developed leakage, locals alleged. They complained of dirty water with bad smell, possibly emanating from the sewerage line attached to the waterline.

"I have sent my wife and children to a relative's house outside the DND area as my house is now in waist-deep water," said Shamsul Alam, a resident of Sastapur area.

"When I woke up yesterday morning, I found my house reeling under knee-deep water. In many houses in the DND area, gas burners have gone under water," said Jamil Khandoker, another resident of Sastapur.

Many industrial units located inside the DND embankment area have suspended their operations due to waterlogging. Most of the educational institutions were also closed yesterday as teachers and students were affected.

Belayet Hossain, sub-assistant engineer at Shimrail pump house of Siddhirganj, said the height of water is now nine feet in the pump house reservoir.

"We are now operating four pumps to pump out water from the waterlogged DND area to the Shitalakhya river. But these pumps cannot work uninterruptedly due to frequent power outages," said the engineer.

The area experienced a prolonged waterlogging last year due to torrential rain.

Bangladesh Water Development Board last year planned to make the 45-kilometer cannel inside the DND embankment area suitable for free flow of water, but the plan has not been implemented, resulting in further waterlogging this monsoon.

SM Harunur Rashid, deputy commissioner of Narayanganj, said steps have been taken so that water of the west side of Dhaka-Narayanganj link road could reach the pump house located on the east side of the road.