Bagerhat
Heritage on the edge: More trails of Khanjahan found
All that remains of a dead rose is its name; but the sights and smells of history, where we can still find them, need to be treasured.
Today, the medieval city of Khalifatabad (modern Bagerhat) is home to the remains of hundreds of historic buildings, some of which have been standing for around 600 years.
Khanjahan was the founder of the city which arose from the Sundarbans edge and who earned the status of a sufi pir (saint) in his lifetime. The Archaeology Department recently resumed excavating a piece of land in Sundarghona of Bagerhat Sadar upazila – a Unesco World Heritage site popularly known as Khanjahan's homestead.
The city he created was abandoned in later years. Khanjahan's homestead also lied in negligence for a long time, with a great amount of wear and deterioration.
Although Unesco has recognised the mosque city of Bagerhat as a world heritage site, not many know about the initial settlements here, and how Khanjahan shaped its history.
The excavation will go deep into the layout of his homestead, its architectural style, structure, and chronological order.
According to the archaeology department, Unesco declared 17 sites, including the historic Shat Gambuj Mosque (60 dome mosque), as world heritage sites in 1985. The homestead of Khanjahan is one of them. The place is just 400 metres away from the iconic mosque.
Khanjahan built bridges, roads, mosques and other public buildings within an astonishingly short time. However, only two surviving monuments – his tomb and the Shat Gambuj Mosque –now bear the signs of his time.
The government acquired around 10 acres of land in 1997 to excavate Khanjahan's homestead.
Bagerhat's shining success in vaccinating students
Students in Bagerhat have raced ahead of most members of their cohorts in other parts of the country, when it comes to getting vaccinated against COVID-19. This has put them in a strong position to fully resume in-person schooling with pre-pandemic schedules ahead of most other districts, given the government's mandate that only the students who are vaccinated could attend schools.
Driven by this challenge, all the students aged 12-17 in 9 upazilas of Bagerhat, have successfully completed their first doses of the vaccine. They are now up for the second dose.
Already this week, long queues of students were seen forming during a visit to the Bagerhat Sadar Hospital - all belonging to the same group, lining up now for their second dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
Read: All students to be vaccinated by Jan 31: Dipu Moni
Deputy Commissioner (DC) Mohammad Azizur Rahman said, "We have successfully brought all students aged 12-17 under the vaccination programme. Now efforts are being made to bring all students aged above 18 under vaccination by January."
Bagerhat District Education Officer Kamruzzaman said that a list of students above 18 in the district have been made. According to it, in Bagerhat district there are 33,112 students above 18. Of them 29,531 got their first dose. Remaining 3,531 have registered through the app.
Both the parents and the teachers are happy that the district administration managed to bring all the students under vaccination. They have highly praised the efforts made to make the students aware of the importance of vaccinating.
Bagehat Civil Surgeon Dr Jalal Uddin said, our target was to vaccinate a total of 1,36,651 students aged 12-17 but we have administered the first dose vaccine to 1,41,308 students within this age range. This took the vaccination rate in the district to 103 per cent. The additional 4,657 students were dropouts.
Students received vaccines in 14 booths in 9 upazilas of the district; they came to the centers with enthusiasm and received the vaccines, Dr Jalal Uddin said.
So far, 11,669 students have received the second dose of vaccine, he added.
Farmer stabbed over land dispute in Bagerhat
A farmer was stabbed by his rivals over land dispute in front of Mallikbari of Sharankhola upazila headquarters in Bagerhat district on Saturday night.
The victim is Sumon Hawladar, 35, son of Abdul Hawladar of the upazila.
Quoting local people Saidur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Sharankhola Police Station, said Sumon and his cousins are at loggerheads over the ownership of a piece of land.
As a sequel to the enmity, Sumon’s cousin swooped on him around 9 pm while he was returning home and stabbed indiscriminately, leaving him injured.
READ: Bagerhat road crash leaves 4 dead
They also severed the tendons of Sumon’s hands and legs.
He was first taken to a local hospital from where he was shifted to Khulna Medical College and Hospital for better treatment.
READ: Shopkeeper killed in Bagerhat
More than 700 birds rescued in Bagerhat
More than 700 birds of Sturnidae species, known as Shalik, were on Sunday freed by police after they were rescued from a cowshed at Mollahat in Bagerhat.
Tipped off, police raided Kaka Mia's house at Rajpat village in Mollahat on Saturday night and found the birds kept in nets.
Police could not arrest anyone involved the hunter who fled the scene, said Soumen Das, officer-in-charge (OC) of Mollahat police station.
Also read: Two held with 50 wild birds in Jashore
Several nets for hunting birds were also seized during the drive.
Covid vaccine: Fakirhat becomes first upazila to jab 100% of eligible population
Fakirhat in Bagerhat district, has outpaced 494 other upazilas in the country to become the first where 100 percent of its eligible population has received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine – a remarkable achievement at a time when countries around the world are struggling to convince people to take the Covid vaccine.
Fakirhat on Thursday became the first upazila to inoculate 100 percent of its eligible population with the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
In this upazila of 1.63 lakh people, for months, day after day, long and orderly lines formed outside the vaccination centres.
Students, teachers, farmers, potters – young and old, rich and poor, highly and barely educated –showed up when their names were called; then returned weeks later for the second dose.
"Fakirhat is the first upazila in Bangladesh to have achieved 100 percent vaccination of all eligible population. This is quite an achievement. We will use Fakirhat experience in other upazilas of the country," Lokman Hossain Miah, senior secretary to the Health Services Division, said today while addressing a programme in the upazila.
"All the eligible target group people above 12 years of age in Fakirhat have been vaccinated. Around 1.63 lakh people live here. Against an eligible population of 1,26,000 in the upazila, 1,20,000 people have been inoculated and 6,000 residents who live outside the upazila also got jabbed – that makes it 100 percent vaccination," Fakirhat upazila parishad Chairman Swapan Kumar Das said.
Swapan credited the success to several campaigns, including mega vaccination drives, special camps for senior citizens, door-to-door campaigns, and the engagement of public leaders at all levels.
"We need 27 crore vaccine doses. The government has bought 21 crore vaccine shots. Also, it has got 10 crore doses as gifts," Lokman said.
"We have started administering booster doses to people over 60 years of age and want to fully vaccinate 100 percent of the target population against Covid-19 by March," Professor Meerjady Sabrina Flora, additional director general of the health directorate, said at the programme.
Read: Access to safe, effective vaccines to be ensured in Bangladesh: Japan
2 forest officials injured in attack by deer hunters in Bagerhat
Two forest officials were injured in an attack by suspected venison smugglers in Morrelganj upazila of Bagerhat.
The incident took place on Thursday at Jhiudhora village of Chandpai Range in Morrelganj Upazila.
The injured are Masud Rana,28, and Shanto Sheikh, 22, officer of Chandpai Range’s Jhiudhora station. They were given primary treatment at Mongla Upazila Health Complex.
Read: Attack on rally: Habiganj police sue 2,000 BNP leaders
They were attacked while a 7-member team of forest officials were going to recover venison from Sorowar Haolader’s house at Jhiudhora village early Thursday, said Enamul Haque, Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) of Sundarbans East Forest Department.
The attackers also damaged a rifle and looted 5 rounds of bullets from the officials and locked them in a room, he said.
On information, police rescued the officials from the spot, said Superintendent of Bagerhat Police (SP) KM Ariful Haque.
However, no one was arrested in this connection, he added.
AL member killed in Bagerhat
Bagerhat, Dec 17 (UNB)— An Awami League member was killed and three others were injured in an attack by a rival group over establishing supremacy at Rampal area of Bagerhat on Friday, police said.
The deceased was identified as Firoz Dhali, 45, son of Ashad Ali of Kastobaria area of Rampal Upazila while the injured were Awrongojeb,42, Hanif,38, and Akram Dhali of Kadirkhali area.
Former general secretary of Rampal Upazila Awami League Jamil Hasan Jamu said, “I was dropped off at the gate of the house around 10:30 am and four people including Firoz Dhali were going towards their house. After a while, 30-40 people including Bellal Bepari and his brother Baki attacked, leaving them injured”.
Injured Firoz was taken to Rampal Upazila health complex.
Read: AL man killed in Kushtia factional clash
Later, he was shifted to Khulna Medical College and Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries in the afternoon.
Officer-in-charge (OC) of Rampal Police Station, Md. Shamsuddin said they have detained 6 people for questioning over this incident.
Police have been deployed in the area to avoid any further unwanted situations, he said. “Police have started work to bring the culprits under the law”.
Thousands of Dublar Char fishermen take oath together with PM on Victory Day
On the occasion of the Victory Day more than 5,000 fishermen living in the estuary of Bay of Bengal at Dublar Char took part in the oath to the nation led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
On Thursday afternoon, thousands of people from different walks of life in Bagerhat district gathered at Sheikh Helal Uddin Stadium to recite the oath with PM virtually.
Bagerhat District Commissioner Mohammad Azizur Rahman and Muhammad Belayet Hossain, divisional forest officer (DFO-East) of Sundarbans confirmed the fishermen spontaneously participated in taking the oath to build the country as a developed, prosperous and non-communal ‘Sonar Bangla’.
Also read: Victory Day celebrated with a vow to build prosperous ‘Sonar Bangla’
The PM conducted the nationwide oath at 4:30pm from the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad, which was broadcast live through Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar and other private TV channels.
People from the country’s eight divisional cities and different grassroots took the oath. Bangabandhu’s youngest daughter, Sheikh Rehana, was present.
Also read: Will build Bangladesh as prosperous ‘Sonar Bangla’, nation renews vow
Woman raped in Bagerhat, one held
A 23-year-old woman was raped allegedly by a youth at Badekarapara village in Bagerhat Sadar upazila early Tuesday.
Police said Rubel Hawladar, 26, a youth from neighboring Polghat village, entered the woman’s house and raped her after threatening her of killing her minor daughter in the early hours of Tuesday.
Read: DB SI held for rape in Khulna
Police sent the woman to the One Stop Crisis Centre Center of Bagerhat Sadar Hospital for medical examination.
Rubel also looted cash Tk 47,000 and gold jewelries from the house, alleged the woman.
Superintendent of Police Mahmud Hasan of Bagerhat Sadar Circle said another youth Sajal was detained for his suspected involvement in the incident.
Read: 5-yr-old raped by cousin in Bhola
KM Azizul Islam, officer-in-charge of Bagerhat Model Police Station, said a case was filed in this connection.
12ft-long python rescued in Bagerhat
A 12ft-long python was rescued by forest officials from a paddy field in Sarankhola upazila of Bagerhat on Monday. The snake was later released in the Sundarbans.
However, the python had attacked a 15-year-old boy, named Omar Hawladar, during the rescue operations, according to the forest officials. The boy received primary treatment at the Upazila Health Complex.
"The reptile weighing 16kg was rescued by the forest department on Monday afternoon from the paddy field in Jilbunia village. It was released in the Sharankhola range of the Sundarbans at night," said Md Belayet Hossain, divisional forest officer (East).
Read:18-feet long python captured in Bagerhat
Originally from the Sundarbans, the python entered the village by crossing the Bhola river, according to the DFO.
“In the past one year, more than 100 pythons have been rescued from the Chadpai and Sarankhola range,” said DFO Belayet.
He also urged people to inform the forest department whenever they spot any wild animal in their localities rather than harming them.