United News of Bangladesh

A doctor and his son died, and a CNG-run autorickshaw driver was injured after a three-way collision between the autorickshaw, a truck, and a covered van at South Surma of Sylhet city on Monday. The incident happened around 10:00 pm at the Humayun Rashid intersection of the area on Monday. The deceased were identified as Dr Touhidur Rashid Chowdhury, 45, of the oncology department of Northeast Medical College in Sylhet, and his son, Talha Bin Touhid Chowdhury, 16. South Surma Police Station Officer-in-Charge Yardous Hasan confirmed the matter. The autorickshaw carrying the father and son was coming towards the city, and the truck was coming from the opposite direction. When the autorickshaw crossed Humayun Rashid intersection on the south side of Shahjalal Bridge, there was a collision between the truck and the autorickshaw and a covered van, said the OC. All the injured were taken to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared the father and the son brought dead. The bodies were sent to the hospital morgue for autopsy, added the police official. The truck and the covered van were seized, but the drivers fled the spot, he said.

A woman and her son were crushed to death under the wheels of a truck in Lalmonirhat's Kaliganj upazila on Monday. The deceased, Rina Begum, 27, and Raihan Hasan, 2, were residents of the Kakina Moishamuri area of the upazila. According to eyewitnesses, the deceased, along with the woman's husband, Monir Hossain, were on their way home on a motorcycle. Menawhile, a stone-laden truck hit the motorcycle in the Kakina Chapartol area around 7:30 pm on Monday. Monir fell off the motorcycle on the side of the road while the truck ran over his wife and son, killing the mother and son on the spot. Kaliganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge Kabir said locals seized the truck, but its driver fled the scene. The bodies were sent to the hospital, he said.

Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader on Monday urged the people to make Jatiya Party win the next election for bringing change and peace. “Vote for the Jatiya Party and help the party win to save the country from the misrule, looting and corruption of the Awami League. People are suffering a lot and the Jatiya Party is needed for change,” he said while speaking at a rally during the election campaign at Gobindaganj upazila. GM Quader withdraws candidacy from Dhaka-17 He also introduced Mashiur Rahman, a Jatiya Party candidate for Gaibandha-4 constituency, and said the party candidate would serve them, if elected. Mentioning that the Awami League is involved in misleading people, the Jatiya Party Chairman said while the ruling party withdrew their party aspirants from different constituencies they again support independents from those constituencies. “We are not part of any grand alliance. We are contesting the poll with a ‘plough’ symbol, and it has no meaning to be afraid of criminals. We believe that voting and election will show what stance the Jatiya Party has,” he said. Jatiya Party went for election to protect its political existence: GM Quader

A teenage boy was killed allegedly by his playmates during a badminton game in Jungle Salimpur union area under Sitakunda upazila of Chattogram district on Sunday night. The deceased was identified as Emon, 15, son of Sabuj Mia of Somaj area of the union. With this, three people were murdered in separate incidents in the upazila within a span of around two hours on Sunday night. Read: Train ploughs into truck in Mymensingh; 4 dead  According to local sources, the victim and three other playmates got locked into an altercation over the badminton game in the Somaj area around 11 pm. At one stage of the altercation, the opponents hit in the head with bats leaving him critically injured. Later, he was rushed to Chittagong Medical College Hospital where doctors declared him dead, they said. Read: Bus torched in Narayanganj  Shortly after the incident, police arrested the accused Sujon, 17, Faruk, 15, and Munna, 17, said Officer-in-charge of Sitakunda Police Station Kamal Uddin. Earlier, one Md Alamgir, 36, was stabbed to death by miscreants over land dispute in Shitalpur area and another Nur Mostafa Bazal, 58, was also murdered by cousins centring previous enmity in Lalanagar village at the same night starting from 9 pm.

Supporters of Naogaon-5 independent candidate Dewan Sekar Ahmed Shishan allegedly set fire to five election camps of Al-backed candidate Barrister Nazim Uddin Jalil on Sunday night. The arsons were reported in Gostahatir more area of the town, Trimohani Bazar area of Sadar Upazila, Halghoshpara of Bakhtarpur Union and Chaktartao Muktarpara area at night. Mahbubul Haque Kamal, president of Naogaon Sadar Upazila unit Awami League, said supporters of independent candidate Dewan Sekar Ahmed are provoking the supporters of the AL after the allocation of symbols.

Four people died and four others were injured when a train crashed into a sand-laden truck on Shambhuganj Raghurampur level crossing in Mymensingh’s Sadar upazila on Monday. The identities of the deceased could not be known immediately. The accident occurred around 2:15 pm when the Dhaka-bound ‘Balaka Express’ train from Mohonganj in Netrakona slammed into the truck while it was passing the level crossing, leaving four people dead on the spot and four others injured, said officer-in-charge of Kotwali Model Police Station Anwar Hossain. Freight train derails in Habiganj The train dragged the truck up to 300 metres from the level crossing. The injured were taken to Mymensingh Medical College and Hospital. The truck entered the level-crossing as there was no gateman or a bar. Masum Ahmed, superintendent of Mymensingh district police, said the accident occurred as the level crossing was illegal. Meanwhile, the railway authorities formed a four-member probe body to know the reason behind the accident, said Assistant Engineer of Mymensingh Railway Akram Ali. The committee has been asked to submit its report within three working days. Train communication on the Mymensingh-Bhairab, Mymensingh-Mohanganj and Mymensingh-Chattogram routes resumed after two hours of suspension. Local administration would provide Tk 20,000 each to the family members of the deceased, said Didar-e-Alam Mohammad Maksud Chowdhury, deputy commissioner. ‘I demand justice from PM’: Mizanur, who lost wife and child in arson attack on train, says  

Police recovered the body of a farmer at Belta village in Singra upazila of Natore on Monday. Abul Kalam Azad, officer-in-charge (OC) of Singra Police Station, said the family members of Jinnat Talukder spotted the body of Anwar lying in their paddy field in the morning and informed police. Farmers expect bumper mustard yield in Khulna Later, police recovered the body and sent it to Sadar Hospital morgue. Family members said  Anwar went to his field at Chalanbeel, one and a half kilometers away from his house, to see paddy in the morning. 3 held for attempting to hurl bombs on N’ganj rail track Police are investing the death, the OC said.

People in south-western district Bagerhat have been grappling with dense fog since Sunday night that has thrown normal life out of gear. Due to dense fog, visibility is significantly reduced, hampering the movement of people and vehicles. Transports move cautiously with illuminated headlights, causing delays in reaching their destinations. International court rules against Guatemala in a landmark Indigenous and environmental rights case Individuals venturing out of their homes during this period encounter difficulties, with visibility remaining limited until 10 am. Consequently, many are compelled to stay indoors, avoiding the challenges posed by the adverse weather conditions. Farmers expressed concerns about potential damage to Boro paddy seedbeds and potato fields due to the persistent fog. Shangkar Kumar Majumder, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension in Bagerhat, said t if the dense fog persists, it could adversely affect the Boro paddy seedbeds, and there is also a risk of insect infestation in the potato fields. Farmers have been provided with suggestions to mitigate these issues. Dhaka’s air ‘very unhealthy’, 2nd worst in the world this morning Harun-Or-Rashid, officer-in-charge of Mongla Meteorological Observatory, said dense to moderate fog has enveloped the region since Sunday night, covering various areas of the district. Visibility is severely limited within 100 meters or more, making it challenging for people and vehicles, he said adding that the district's lowest temperature was recorded at 16.5 degrees Celsius, and it is predicted that similar foggy condition  may persist on Tuesday.

Farmers and agriculture officials in Khulna district are expecting a bumper production of mustard as improved varieties of mustard were cultivated on a record amount of land this season. Mustard cultivation is gaining more popularity among the farmers in the district as they got good yield as well as good price of the winter crop last year. This season 289 hectares of land have been brought under mustard cultivation in nine upazilas and in the city. Khulna Cancer hospital project sees slow progress The flourishing mustard crops have transformed the landscape, with farmers envisioning higher yields as they witness the blooming flowers. In addition to getting seeds and fertilizers as incentives, last year’s good yield motivated farmers to bring more land under mustard cultivation, said the officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension(DAE)  who also hope that every mustard farmer will get more profit this year if the weather remains favourable. According to DAE of Khulna district, mustard has been cultivated on 1,954 hectares of land in the district this season. Of these, mustard has been cultivated on 14 hectares in Daulatpur metropolitan area, 7 hectares in Labanchara, 305 hectares in Rupsha upazila, 250 hectares in Batiaghata upazila, 120 hectares in Dighalia upazila, 180 hectares in Phultala upazila, 420 hectares in Dumuria upazila, 160 hectares in Terokhada upazila, 28 hectares in Dacope upazila, 260 hectares in Paikgachha upazila and 210 hectares in Koyra upazila. Last year, mustard was cultivated on 1,665 hectares of land in the distict. Jan 7 election: Jatiya Party candidates at loggerheads over withdrawal from the race in Khulna Meanwhile, the DAE has provided 13,600 farmers with seeds and fertilizers for cultivation of 1,820 hectares of land in the district. Each of the 50 farmers of Daulatpur metropolitan area, 50 farmers of Labanchara, 2,000 farmers of Rupsha upazila, 1,800 farmers of Batiaghata, 1,200 farmers of Dighalia, 1,400 farmers of Phultala, 2,300 farmers of Dumuria, 1,200 farmers of Terokhada, 300 farmers of Dacope, 1,800 farmers of Paikgachha and 1,500 farmers of Koyra was given one kg of seeds, 10 kg DAP fertilizer and 10 kg MOP fertilizer as incentives. Mustard farmers Ansar Ali, Abdus Samad and Soluar Shahid of Gopalpur village in Paikgachha upazila said the mustard cultivated in their fields has been good and they were motivated by the Agriculture Office. Paikgachha Upazila Agriculture Officer Ashim Kumar Das said, mustard cultivation was delayed due to delay in harvesting paddy. If farmers cultivate early varieties of paddy, they will be able to cultivate mustard on time after harvesting paddy, he added. ‘Dog meat biryani’ at Tk 30 per packet: Khulna police arrest 4 people Farmers are being encouraged to cultivate early varieties of paddy and mustard cultivation in the upazila has been good this year, he said. Kazi Jahangir Hossain, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension, Khulna, said, farmers have been given incentives like last year to increase oil seed production. “Our field workers are constantly assisting the farmers with necessary advice. Hopefully, there will be a good yield and it will be helpful in meeting the demand of edible oil.”

Miscreants set a bus of ‘Anabil Paribahan’ on fire in  Signboard area of Siddhirganj under Narayanganj district early Monday. 4 arson attacks recorded in 12 hours: Fire Service The miscreants set fire to the bus around 2 am, said Anwarul Islam, warehouse inspector of Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) headquarters (media cell). Two firefighting units from Adamjee EPZ fire station rushed to the spot and extinguished the blaze at 2:45 am. Bus set on fire in Gulistan on eve of return to blockade However, no casualties were reported.