27 June 2004	Sunday	08 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425

DHAKA, June 26: Monsoon flooding has so far killed five people and marooned about 500,000 in Sylhet and Comilla districts of Bangladesh.

The road and railway communications between Dhaka and Sylhet, and the Indian state of Tripura have been suspended and a number of villages have been cut off due to the onrush from the hills and upstream channels in India, authorities said.

A part of a groin in the river Jamuna to protect the Sirajganj district town was washed away on Friday, leaving about 500,000 people stranded in their homes.

Members of the armed forces have been deployed after the rain-swollen Gumti River threatened to burst the embankment.

Top officials at the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief allocated cash and food for the flood-affected people at an emergency meeting on Saturday.

The flood warning centre said on Saturday the situation had worsened in Sylhet and Comilla and might inundate low-lying areas around Sirajganj.

The water level has risen at 34 points out of the 85 that are constantly monitored and at nine points it has crossed the danger mark.

The worst situation is in the Surma basin as the water of the river continues to rise and was flowing above the danger level by 102cms at Kanaighat on Saturday morning.