District
Human chain for potable water in coastal Satkhira
Residents of the coastal areas of Satkhira formed a human chain in front of the press club on Saturday, demanding supply of pure drinking water in the district.
Despite repeated requests, the protesters claimed, the authorities turned a blind eye to the issue.
Highlighting the sufferings of the residents, the protesters vowed to intensify their stir if "our demand for clean drinking water in the coastal areas is ignored".
Read: Farmers’ suicide ‘for irrigation water’: Human chain demands justice
"Women are forced to walk 4-5 kms daily to fetch safe drinking water. Salinity in water is damaging crops in the coastal areas as well," said a protester.
The protest was held under the aegis of NGO ‘Swadesh’.
Stolen diesel seized by Coast Guard in Chandpur
Coast Guard members seized 3,800 litres of stolen diesel from a Launch Ghat area of Matlab Uttar Upazila of Chandpur on Friday.
Acting on a tip-off, a team of coastguard conducted a drive at Mohanpur’s Dasani Launch Ghat area and seized the diesel stolen from two abandoned houses, Lieutenant Commander Khandaker Munif Taqi, media officer of Bangladesh Coast Guard Headquarters, said.
The estimated market value of the seized diesel is Tk 4,33,200, added the officer.
However, no one could be arrested in this connection.
Read: 3 held over stealing oil from standing train in Feni
The Coast Guard subsequently handed it over to Mohanpur Police Station.
Youth stabbed dead by miscreants in Chattogram
A youth was stabbed to death by miscreants in front of his house in Fatikchhari upazila of Chattogram district on Thursday night.
The deceased was identified as Anwarul Azim, 33, a resident of Dharmapur union parishad (UP) under the upazila. He used to live with his family in the port city Chattogram but visit home sometimes.
Morshedul Alam, member of the UP, said Azim went out of his house for Esha prayer on Thursday night and didn’t come back after a long time.
Later, the family members found the bloodstained body of Azim in front of the gate of their house when they were searching for him, he said.
Read: Youth stabbed dead in Faridpur, one detained
He was rushed to a local hospital where physicians pronounced him dead on arrival, the UP member continued.
Kazi Ibne Anowar Masud, Officer-in-charge (OC) of Fatikchhari Police Station, said on information they recovered the body from the hospital and sent it to Chattogram Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy.
Filing a case related to the incident is underway, added the OC.
Toddler drowns in Kurigram pond
A one-and-a-half-year-old drowned in a pond near his house while playing there in Kurigram's Rowmari upazila Friday.
The deceased was identified as Abu Horayra, son of Samaun Islam of Uttarpara village of Sadar union.
"Horayra was playing in the yard of his house at 10am. As the family members were not around, he fell into the pond and drowned," Samaun said.
"His family members started looking for him as he was not seen anywhere. At one stage, Horayra's body was found floating on the pond near his house," Rup Kumar Sarkar, officer-in-charge of Roumari Police Station, said.
Read: 2 children drown in Naogaon pond
Tea workers go on strike demanding better pay
Bangladesh Tea Workers’ Union has decided to launch a strike from Saturday, demanding an increase in their daily wages to Tk 300 from the existing Tk 120 per day.
Tea workers from 167 tea gardens of the country will take part in the strike.
Earlier on Friday, tea workers from various tea gardens in Moulvibazar abstained from work for two hours for the fourth consecutive day. They also carried out demonstrations and protest rallies to press home their demand.
Bangladesh is producing record amount of tea every year through the toil of the tea workers. In 2021, a record 96 million kilograms of tea was produced in the country thanks to the hard labor of the underpaid tea workers. Although two agreements on increasing the wages have been implemented, the fate of more than 1.5 lakh tea workers of the country hasn’t changed a bit.
Read: Tea workers strike for wage hike in Sylhet
Bijoy Hajra, President of Bangladesh Tea Workers’ Union Balishira Valley and Organizing Secretary of the Union’s Central Committee, said that rampant price hikes of daily essentials are making it impossible for the tea workers to run their families on a meager income of Tk 120 per day.
“We’ve discussed the matter with the tea garden owners time and again but they are constantly breaking the agreements reached between the Union and the owners. Increasing the wages of the tea workers is a longstanding demand. Though the existing agreements say that wages will be increased every year, the owners haven’t done so for the last three years. That’s why we’ve been forced to call for a tough movement,” said Bijoy.
Nripen Pal, Secretary (Acting) of the Union, said that the tea workers will carry on their strike till their demand is met.
“All the tea workers across the country will observe the strike from dawn to dusk from Saturday for an indefinite period. Despite the strike, the workers will also bring out protest rallies in their respective areas,” said Nripen.
Kushtia filling station fire kills two
Fire tore quickly through a filling station in Kushtia's Bheramara upazila Friday, charring two people to death and seriously injuring one.
The deceased were identified as Shahajul, 35, of Rifaitpur union of Daulatpur upazila and Bijoy, 16, of the same area. However, the identity of the injured could not immediately be confirmed.
"The fire broke out at Dafadar Filling Station at 7:30pm. On information, firefighters responded to the blaze," Jane Alam, deputy director of Kushtia Fire Service and Civil Defence, said.
Read: Man hurt in Mohakhali filling station fire
One killed, three injured on Dhaka-Chattogram highway in car-truck crash
The driver of a speeding car was killed and three of its passengers seriously injured on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway in Chattogram's Sitakunda Friday after the fire service said a car crashed into a truck.
The deceased was identified as Forkan from Boalkhali upazila, Chattogram. The injured are Md Shahidullah, 55, his wife Jahanara Begum, 45, and son Arafat Hossain, 22, from Noakhali's Begumganj.
Nurul Alam Dulal, senior station officer of Sitakunda Fire Service, said the port city-bound car rammed into a truck parked along a road at Barabkunda Bazar of Sitakunda.
Read: Road accidents claim 7 lives in 3 districts
"Forkan died on the spot. Shahidullah, Jahanara, and Arafat, who were rushed to Chattogram Medical College and Hospital in critical conditions, are not out of danger yet," he added.
Low pressure in Bay: Tidal surge inundates parts of the Sundarbans
Swollen rivers have inundated several low-lying areas of the Sundarbans thanks to the wind-driven surge height of three feet above normal astronomical tide since Friday morning under the influence of full moon and steep pressure gradient.
Azad Kabir, officer-in-charge of the Karamjal Wildlife Breeding Center of Sundarbans, said the Sundarbans was heavily inundated with tidal surge due to the full moon on Friday compared to the situation in the last three days.
Various areas of the forest, including the Karamjal Wildlife Breeding Centre, are flooded by tidal surge.
During the low tide, waters in some parts of the forest recede, but waterlogged in the low-lying areas.
Read:Tidal surge inundates 18 Jhalakati villages
However, no loss of wildlife has been reported so far, said the official.
The low-lying areas of the coastal districts and their offshore island and chars are likely to be inundated by the wind driven surge height of 2-4 feet above normal astronomical tide due to the full moon and steep pressure gradient, the weather department said Friday.
Also, squally weather may affect the maritime ports, the North Bay of Bengal and adjoining coastal areas of Bangladesh, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department.
Maritime ports of Chattogram, Cox's Bazar, Mongla and Payra were advised to keep hoisted local cautionary signal No. 3.
All fishing boats and trawlers over the North Bay were advised to remain close to the coast and proceed with caution till further notice.
Bangladesh not turning into Sri Lanka : FM
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has said a certain group is spreading panic with 'baseless' claim that Bangladesh will see a situation like crisis-hit Sri Lanka.He, however, acknowledged the challenges that Bangladesh is facing due to global crises."People of Bangladesh are leading happier lives compared to other countries," Momen said while talking to reporters in Sylhet on Friday.
Also read: Dhaka approached Swiss banks about deposit of Bangladeshi money: MomenHe said Bangladesh has enough dollar reserves and is just maintaining a bit of austerity considering the future crises.Responding to a question, the foreign minister said the Swiss banks do not want to share the information on alleged laundered money from Bangladesh.He said, “Whenever we seek information from a country where Bangladeshi money has been laundered the authorities there seem reluctant to provide it. It’s their inherent issue.”He said the Bangladesh Bank sought information from the Swiss banks mentioning the names of 67 individuals."At that time, they provided information on one individual. Information was sought several times," Momen said.
Also read: Dhaka, Delhi agree to strengthen defence cooperationThe foreign minister said Switzerland is Bangladesh’s friend and urged them not to provide misinformation.Earlier in the morning, Momen attended an emergency meeting to solve the airport land acquisition problem at MAG Osmani International Airport in Sylhet.
Two Indians held with smuggled drugs in Lalmonirhat
Two Indian nationals have been apprehended with smuggled drugs near the international border in Lalmonirhat, police said on Friday.
The arrestees have been identified as Hossain Ali and Jahangir Alam, said Shaha Alam, officer-in-charge of Hatibandha police station.
The accused were arrested on Thursday night from near the Gendukuri border of Tongbhanga union in Hatibandha upazila during a drive, said the OC.
Also read: Cabinet okays draft law keeping maximum 10-yr jail for drugs anomalies
"Some 100 bottles of phensedyl have been seized from their possession," he said.
The arrestees were booked and produced in a court that sent them to judicial custody, OC Shaha said.
Also read: 3 ‘drug peddlers’ held in city