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Country’s first 6-lane bridge to open tomorrow over Madhumati
In a filip to residents of the country's north-western districts, the long-awaited Kalna Bridge, the first six-lane bridge in Bangladesh will be inaugurated Monday, bridging the Madhumati River in Narail.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to inaugurate the 690-metre bridge, also known as Madhumati Bridge, via video conference.
The bridge is totally ready to become fully operational as soon as it is inaugurated, said Ashrafuzzaman, Project Manager of Madhumati Bridge and Executive Engineer of Roads and Highways Department in Narail.
Residents of Gopalganj, Narail, Jashore, Benapole, Satkhira and north-western districts in the country have been eagerly waiting to cross the bridge since the inauguration date was announced.
Ashrafuzzaman said the country’s first six-lane bridge is a Nielsen-Lohse Arch type bridge.
“The length of the bridge is 690 meters and the width is 27.1 meters. The six-lane connecting road on both sides is about 4 and half kilometers,” he added.
The total cost of construction of the bridge is about Tk 960 crore which has been funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) under the Cross Border Road Network Improvement Project of the Department of Roads and Highways.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid the foundation stone of Kalna Bridge in January 2015.
Toll rates fixed
The Madhumati Bridge authority has already fixed the toll rates to be paid to cross the bridge by different vehicles.
Large trailers will need to pay Tk 565, trucks with three or four axles Tk 450, medium-sized trucks with two axles Tk 225 and small trucks Tk 170.
Meanwhile, large buses will have to pay Tk 205, minibuses or coasters Tk 115, microbuses, pick up vans, converted jeeps and wreckers Tk 80, and private cars Tk 55.
Autorickshaw, three-wheelers, battery and CNG-driven autorickshaws will pay Tk 25, motorcycles Tk 10, and finally paddled vans, rickshaws, or bicycles will pay Tk 5 as toll to cross the bridge.
After the inauguration, the toll will be collected manually first. Later toll will be collected digitally through the operator.
Connecting the gaps
The distance from Kalnaghat to Dhaka is only 108-km. With the Kalna Bridge opening, the commute between Dhaka and the surrounding areas including Narail, Benapole, Jessore, and Khulna will be reduced by 100-km, to 200-km in some places.
The bridge is part of the Asian Highway Network. In terms of road communication, it will play a direct role in connecting roads through Sylhet's Tamabil to Dhaka, Bhanga, Narail, Jessore, Benapole, and Kolkata. The Madhumati River was lying between the Kalna Point and those routes, and not it has been bridged.
The bridge will impact both national and international connectivity and act as a milestone linking India’s Assam and West Bengal to Bangladesh’s Bhomra Land Port in Satkhira, Benapole and Noapara maritime port.
With the launch of EPZ (Export Processing Zone) at Lohagara in Narail, expansion of business and massive employment will be created.
For the people of Narail, Jessore, Benapole, Noapara Shilpanagar, Bhomra land port of Satkhira and some surrounding districts, the Kalna Bridge is expected to be a greater boon than even the Padma Bridge.
Vehicles had to wait long periods to cross the Madhumati River by ferry from the Kalnaghat point.
Tomorrow brings a new dawn for the people of the said regions.
15 shops gutted in Natore fire
At least 15 shops were gutted in a fire at Bangabaria Bazar in Sadar upazila of the Natore district early Sunday.
Sources said the fire broke out from an electric short-circuit at a shop of the market around 1am and it quickly engulfed the other shops.
Akhtar Hamid Khan, senior station officer of Natore Fire Service, said on information a fire fighting team from the station rushed to the spot and put out the fire with the help of locals after about an hour.
Read: Fire at Sylhet colony makes five families homeless
Some 15 shops, mostly selling garment products, medicine and shoes, were burnt in the fire, he said, adding that the extent of damage in the incident could not be fixed immediately.
5 dead, 4 injured in Narayanganj road accident
Five people were dead and four were injured in a head-on collision between a microbus and a battery-run three wheeler on the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway in Siddhirganj upazila of Narayanganj district on Sunday morning, police said.
The deceased have been identified as Md Mamun, 26, Abu Hanif, 25, Nur Uddin, 45, Jamal Mia, 42, and an unidentified person aged 36.
Of the deceased, Hanif was the three-wheeler driver and rest were passengers of the vehicle while identities of the injured could not be known immediately.
Nabir Hossain, officer-in-charge of Kanchpur Highway police station, said the accident happened around 9am when the Dhaka-bound microbus collided head-on with a battery-run auto-rickshaw coming from the opposite direction, in Shimrail area on the west side of Kanchpur bridge. One person died on the spot.
Of the injured, five people were rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) and rest to a local hospital, he said.
Read: 7 killed in road accidents in 3 districts
Md Bachhu Mia, in-charge (inspector) of DMCH police outpost, quoting physicians said four people out of the five brought to DMCH succumbed to their injuries while undergoing treatment and one has been undergoing treatment.
Four others have been undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Narayanganj district, he added.
Injured former UP chairman dies at Mymensingh hospital
A former Union Parishad chairman, who suffered serious injuries after being attacked by miscreants on September 29, died while undergoing treatment at Mymensingh Medical College and Hospital on Saturday.The deceased was identified as Subrata Sangma, a former chairman of Durgapur's Kullagara Union Parishad and son of Sudhir Mankhin of Baheratali village of Durgapur upazila.Earlier, a case was registered in connection with the attack. Now the case will be converted into a murder case, said Shibirul Islam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Durgapur police station.Abdul Awal, General Secretary of Durgapur Upazila BNP and Chairman of Kullagarh Union Parishad were made the main accused in the case, he added.According to the statement, a group of miscreants beat up Subrata Sangma in Rashimani Bazar area on September 29. When he was being taken to the upazila health complex for treatment, the miscreants attacked again with sharp weapons, leaving him seriously injured.Locals rushed him to Durgapur Upazila Health Complex. Later, he was shifted to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital as his condition deteriorated. He died at the hospital on Saturday at noon.On September 30, the victim's sister Keya Toju lodged a complaint at Durgapur police station accusing 31 persons, including 15 named.Additional police forces have been deployed in the area to avert any untoward situation, added the OC.
Five arrested for embezzling 18 MT urea in Bogura
Members of Detective Branch (DB) arrested five people for misappropriating 18 Metric Tonnes (MT) of urea fertilizer by conducting drives in several areas of Bogura district overnight into Saturday morning.
The arrestees are Al Amin alias Alauddin, 35, son of late Abdul Promanik of Shahjahanpur upazila, Abdul Alim, 50, son of late Dabir Anar of Nandigram upazila, Dhunat upazila’s Rafiqul Islam, 42, son of late Mondal, Mamunur Rashid Mamun, 48, son of late Afroza Begum, and Sajal, 35, son of late Azizar Sakidar.
Ali Haider Swapon, superintendent of police (SP) of the district, said this at a press conference at his office on Saturday noon.
SP Swapon said Ekata Transport’s trucker Alauddin started for Rangpur’s Buffer warehouse with 360 sacks of urea fertilizer weighing around 18 MT from Fenchuganj of Sylhet on September 25.
Read: 238 MT of TSP fertilizers seized on suspicion of being counterfeit
But Alauddin didn’t reach the warehouse he was supposed to with the consignment after passing a period of time. Nor did he respond to calls from the transport agency’s organizing secretary Abdus Samad Swapon, the SP said.
Later, Samad lodged a complaint against Alauddin to the district police when he came to know that Alauddin had sold the consignment to one Rafiqul Islam of Dhunat upazila.
The arrestees had long been involved in swindling goods of several companies when they were hired for transportation, he said.
They were sent to a Bogura court upon filing a case by Abdus Samad against them, he said, adding that a drive is on to nab others in connection with the incident.
2 construction workers killed in Khagrachhari building collapse
Two workers were killed and at least five others were injured as an under-construction building of Khagrachhari Hill District Council (KHDC) in Sadar upazila collapsed on Saturday afternoon.
The deceased were identified as Saiful Islam, 25, of Rangpur and Sazzad, 17, a local, said Fire Service and Civil Defence Station Officer Rajesh Barua.
The injured are Md Rokon, 38, Md Shahjahan, 24, Md Hanif, 25, Md Sohel, 23, and Md Hanif, 27.
They were among the 16 workers working on the front side of the building, added the FSCD officer.
He said the under-construction balcony of KHDC's annex building collapsed suddenly around 5 pm as the slab used for the balcony was supported by bamboo instead of steel.
According to the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies' annual report on workplace deaths in Bangladesh, the construction sector consistently ranks second to the transportation sector in most years. According to the 2021 report of BILS, of the 1,053 workers killed in workplace accidents across the country last year, 154 were in the construction sector - again second behind transportation.
Members of the Fire Service, Army, police and Red Crescent immediately rushed to the spot to conduct a rescue operation.
The matter will be investigated, said Rajesh Barua.
The construction work of the KHDC administrative building began in 2018 and continues in phases.
Trade through Hili land port resumes after Durga Puja holiday
Trade with India via Hili land port in Dinajpur resumed on Saturday after eight days of Durga Puja vacation, port authorities said.
Harunur Rashid, president of an import-export companies' association of Hili land port, confirmed the matter.
The immigration desk at the port was working as usual during the vacation, said Badiuzzaman, in-charge of Hili immigration check post.
“The number of travellers from Bangladesh to India had increased during the Durga Puja holidays,” he said
In coordination with the Indian side the decision to suspend activities at the port for the eight days was taken marking the Durga Puja, the largest religious festival of the Hindu community.
Man stabs mother-in-law to death in Faridpur
A 55-year-old woman was stabbed to death allegedly by her son-in-law in Sabar village of Faridpur district early on Saturday.
The deceased was identified as Rahima Begum of the village.
Habil Hossain, officer-in-charge of Nagarkanda Police Station, said that Rahima stepped out of her house to answer the call of nature around 1am. "It was then that Yunus Molla, her son-in-law, stabbed her with a knife, leaving her critically injured."
Later, she was taken to a local hospital where doctors declared Rahima dead on arrival.
Read: Man stabbed dead ‘by wife’ in Kushtia
The motive behind the killing is yet to be ascertained, the OC said. "Efforts are on to nab the accused, who is on the run."
“The body has been kept at the morgue of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical College and Hospital," he added.
Fire at Sylhet colony makes five families homeless
A fire that broke out at a colony in Sylhet city’s Pathantula area on Friday has made five families destitute in the blink of an eye.
According to Shahidul Islam, a unit leader of Sylhet Fire Service and Civil Defense, three firefighting units brought the blaze under control around 8:00pm after an hour’s efforts.
Although no casualties have been reported as of filing this story, the scale of losses is yet to be ascertained.“The fire engulfed Faruk Mia’s Colony adjacent to the south gate of Ragib-Rabeya Medical College Hospital on Friday evening. The blaze quickly spread to the nearby installations, including a residential building for the students of the medical college,” Shahidul said.
Read: Fire at Star Kabab under control
Shahidul added they are suspecting that an electrical short circuit had caused the fire.
“No one was hurt in the accident. However, the entire colony has been reduced to ashes. Besides, the nearby residential hall for the medical students has also been damaged. Moreover, five families who were living in the colony have lost everything in the fire,” added Shahidul.
Truck crushes three twelfth-graders of same institution to death on Benapole-Jashore highway
Three twelfth-graders of the same educational institution were killed after a truck mowed them down on their motorcycle on the Benapole-Jashore highway Friday night, police said.
The accident claimed the lives of Asif, Arman, and Salman – all twelfth-grade students at Jashore Sadar upazila's Natunhat Public College.
Read: 2 killed in city accident
The crash occurred at 9:15pm in the Natunhat Gazir Dorga as the truck ran over the twelfth-graders after hitting their motorcycle.
"Asif and Armaan died on the spot. Salman succumbed to his injuries at Jashore General Hospital," Navaran Highway Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mizanur Rahman said.
"Legal action will be taken in connection with the accident," he added.