United News of Bangladesh

Ferry services on Aricha-Kazirhat and Paturia-Daulatdia river routes in Manikganj resumed on Saturday after several hours of suspension due to dense fog. Deputy General Manager of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC), Aricha regional office, Nasir Chowdhury, said the ferry services on the Aricha-Kazirhat route remained suspended till 10:30 pm on Friday due to poor visibility caused by the dense fog. Five ferries got stuck in the middle of the river due to the suspension of the ferry movement. Fog-hit ferry services resume on Aricha-Kazirhat, Paturia-Daulatpur routes after 9hrs Besides, the ferry services on the Paturia-Daulatdia route were suspended due to thick fog around 3:30 am early Saturday, forcing the authorities to halt movements of 14 ferries on both sides of the river. Some 500 vehicles, including 400 goods-laden trucks, remained stranded on both sides of the two ferry routes, causing immense sufferings to passengers. As the fog disappeared, the ferry services on the two routes restored around 7 am and 6 am, respectively. Dense fog halts ferry services in Padma, Jamuna rivers  

A case has been filed against 306 people, including a local leader of Chhatra Dal, in connection with the attack on Regent Park Resort in Sylhet. Helal Uddin, Managing Director of the resort, filed the case against six identified and 300 unidentified people with Moglabazar Police Station on Thursday night, said Mohamamd Saiful Islam, deputy commissioner of Sylhet Metropolitan Police. Abu Saleh, senior joint general secretary of Dakhin Surma upazila unit BNP, has bee made the prime accused while Chhatra Dal activists Alauddin Farabi, Sanwar Bakht Rahin, Husain Ahmed, Kabir Ahmed, Sumon Ahmed as accused in the case. ACC files 2 cases against ex-Maj Gen Ziaul Ahsan, wife On January 19, some local people attacked and vandalised the Regent Park Resort for alleged ‘unsocial activities’ at the resort. They also caught 16 students of different colleges and schools from the resort and eight of them were married off in presence of the local people. Students for Sovereignty demands withdrawal of ‘false cases’, release of arresteesBesides, the eight others were handed over to their guardians.      

In protest of the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) taking a Bangladeshi farmer from the Enayetpur border in Dinajpur, locals from the Bangladesh side apprehended an Indian farmer and handed him over to the Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB). Later, in a flag meeting, both were returned to their respective countries’ border forces. This incident occurred on Friday. Tensions had risen along the border, but the issue was resolved peacefully by the concerned authorities. According to locals, six BSF personnel abducted a Bangladeshi citizen named Alamgir from near the 323 main pillar area, adjacent to the Enayetpur BOP camp, at around 10 am on Friday. Alamgir is the son of Aijuddin from the village of Dipnagar. BGB thwarts BSF’s another reported bid to install fence along Joypurhat border After the news spread, locals detained an Indian farmer, Narayan Chandra Roy (45), and handed him over to the BGB. Narayan Chandra Roy is from the Purba Mollapara village in South Dinajpur, West Bengal. Lieutenant Colonel Ahsan Ul Islam, the commander of BGB's 42 Battalion, said, “Five people had crossed into Bangladesh from the Indian side of the border. The BSF mistakenly took Alamgir, thinking he was one of the fugitives they were chasing.” The BSF returned Alamgir to BGB, while Narayan Chandra Roy was handed over to them through a flag meeting at around 3:30pm today, he added.

A trader was shot dead and several others were injured in an attack by miscreants in Noapara, Raojan upazila of Chattogram on Friday. The deceased, identified as Jahangir Alam, was a dried fish trader based in Asadganj, Chattogram city. He was the son of former union parishad member Abu Syed. According to Officer-in-Charge (OC) AKM Shafiqul Alam Chowdhury of Raojan Police Station, Jahangir was ambushed while heading to the mosque to offer the Jummah prayer. Beximco workers' protest foiled amid tight surveillance in Gazipur Eyewitnesses said the assailants first attacked Jahangir with sticks, knocking him to the ground, before opening fire on him. When worshippers at the mosque tried to intervene, some were injured by the attackers. The motive behind the murder is yet to be determined, the OC added.

Two people died, at least 10 others injured in separate road accidents in Natore’s Gurudaspur upazila on Friday. The first accident occurred at around 6:30 am on the Bonpara-Hatikumrul toll road in the Noyabazar area when two trucks collided head-on, resulting in the death of Shahin Alam (27), a fruit trader from Ullapara, Sirajganj, who was in one of the trucks. Three other individuals were injured in the crash, said Ismail Hossain, officer-in-charge of Bonpara Highway Police Station. Lineman dies falling from ladder in Shahbagh While emergency teams were responding, a passenger bus arriving at the accident site lost control and overturned. At least seven passengers were injured in the incident. Fire service personnel rescued the victims, transporting them to the local government hospital and clinic for treatment, he said. In another accident, a person died in the nearby Kachikata area after being hit by an unidentified vehicle. The identity of the deceased is yet to be known, the OC said. Two college students die in Sylhet road accident

Ferry services on Aricha-Kazirhat and Paturia-Daulatdia river routes in Manikganj resumed on Friday morning after nine hours of suspension due to dense fog. Nasir Chowdhury, deputy general manager of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) in Aricha sector, said the ferry services resumed at 10:30am after the fog cleared. Earlier, he said the fog intensified in the Padma and Jamuna rivers’ basins starting from midnight, forcing them to suspend the ferry services at 1:30am. The suspension caused four ferries stuck in the middle of the both rivers and over 500 vehicles at the terminals. During this time, four ferries—Borkot, Kopoti, and Khan Jahan Ali, and Chitra got stuck in the middle of the rivers. Read: Fog fades in Meghna River, ferry services resume Moreover, six ferries remained stuck at the Paturia terminal, four at the Daulatdia, and three at the Aricha, all carrying passengers and vehicles, according to terminal authorities. Currently, over 500 vehicles were stuck at the four ferry terminals, with over 400 freight trucks, they said. Nasir said they allowed passenger buses, private cars, microbuses, ambulances to cross the river on the priority basis after the fogs lifted.

The northern bordering district of Lalmonirhat has been shivering amid the severe cold as the sunlight wasn’t seen for the past four days, disrupting daily life. People aren’t coming out of their houses unless there is an emergency as the fog has been spawning drizzle since Thursday morning. Cold-stricken people are trying to keep them warm by burning straws in open spaces and the severity of the cold coupled with thick fog aggravates after the evening. The poor visibility caused the thin presence of vehicles on the streets while some transports were seen moving with headlights on to ward off any unwanted incident. Read: Severe cold grips Kurigram; low-income people hit hard The adverse weather has left farmers worried over the seedbeds of crops such potato, garlic, and Boro paddy. Mostafizar Rahman, officer-in-charge of Rangpur regional weather office, said they recorded the lowest temperature at 14.2 degree Celsius in the district among seven districts under the office at 9am on Friday. The temperature fluctuated between 12.00 to 12.06 degree Celsius over the past three days except today (Friday), he said.

Workers of Beximco Industrial Park in Gazipur’s Kashimpur failed to stage a protest on Thursday due to heavy surveillance by law enforcement agencies. Md Abu Taleb, senior assistant superintendent of police, Gazipur Industrial Police-2 (Konabari zone), said that an adequate number of police along with army and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel, were deployed around the Chandra-Nabinagar highway and the industrial park to maintain order. Beximco workers block Chandra-Nabinagar highway, 3 vehicles set on fire Workers have been protesting for several days, demanding the reopening of 16 closed factories within the industrial park, banking facilities, and the settlement of unpaid dues. Despite plans to gather for a protest this morning, the workers were unable to proceed due to the heightened security measures. Beximco Industrial Park workers block highway in Gazipur over wages Earlier on Wednesday, protesters had blocked the Chandra-Nabinagar highway, causing significant traffic congestion. The demonstration escalated into violence, with protesters vandalising approximately 50 vehicles and setting some on fire. Police resorted to tear gas and sound grenades to disperse the crowd and restore order.

A fire has destroyed 11 houses belonging to 11 brothers to ashes in Singra Upazila, Natore on Thursday. The fire broke out in Chaupukuria village of Ramananda Khajura Union of the upazila causing an estimated loss of nearly 2 crore taka. A police team visited and assured that appropriate action would be taken if a formal complaint is lodged, said Singra Police Station Officer-in-Charge Asmail Haque. Fire in Mirpur Bata: No casualties reported According to locals, the fire started around 1:30 AM while the family was asleep. All members narrowly escaped unharmed after noticing the flames and rushing outside. However, the fire quickly engulfed the entire property. The Singra Fire Service took two hours to bring the fire under control, but by then, the damage had been done. The family's cash reserves of approximately Tk 3.5 lakh, six refrigerators, 200 mounds of paddy, and other valuables were completely destroyed. Jalal Uddin Mohuri, the eldest of the brothers and a joint convener of the Union BNP, said they lost everything they owned. Sub-Officer Abdus Shaheen of Singra Fire Service suggested that an electrical short circuit might have caused the fire. Hazaribagh leather warehouse fire extinguished, fire safety negligence highlighted Singra Upazila Executive Officer (UNO) Mazharul Islam assured that financial aid would be provided to support their recovery.

Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud has said the parliamentary polls are expected to be held by late 2025 or early 2026.  "We are fully concentrating on the national election now. Local elections are not our priority at this moment," he said at a discussion meeting at the district election office in Patuakhali town on Thursday. The Election Commission wants to give the nation a fair and impartial election, he said. Prioritising national election is EC’s main task: Commissioner Masud “There is no scope of any interference. The election will be held within the timeframe announced by the Chief Adviser and a smooth voting environment will be created," he said.  The discussion meeting was held on voter list update with Senior Election Officer Abi Shahanur Khan in chair. ACC to investigate officials involved in 2018 Nat’l Election ‘manipulation’