A truck driver's helper was killed and 10 other people including the driver were injured as he lost control of his vehicle and hit a microbus and another truck on the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway in Sitakunda on Friday. The deceased helper's name could not be known. Bean produced in Chattogram’s Sitakunda exported to Italy for the first time Fire Service and highway police sources said the accident happened in the early morning when the goods-laden truck crashed into the other truck, and then the microbus from behind, when it lost control in Kamaldah area on the highway, leaving the helper dead on the spot and 10 more people including microbus passengers injured.   Protests on the highway as Tripura Sardar dies in Sitakunda road crash The injured were rushed to Sitakunda Upazila Health Complex, said Kumira highway police outpost in-Charge (IC) Abdul Hakim Azad. Ward Councillor fined for breaching electoral code in Sitakunda

For the first time, a consignment of bean produced in Chattogram’s Sitakunda upazila has been exported to Italy, raising hope among farmers of the upazila which is already famous for vegetable production. Farmers and agriculture officials said Sitakunda upazila is known for production of variety of vegetables including beans. Beans are seen on vast lands on both sides of the Dhaka-Chittagong highway, on cropland, land alley, on both sides of the railway tracks, fallow land, embankments and even in hill slopes, they said. Read more: Prospects of Safe Broiler Chicken Farming The beans produced here are usually supplied to different parts of the country and this is the first time that this bean has been exported to Italy. Farmers said that although raw beans are sold in winter, dry bean seeds are sold throughout the year. Upazila Agriculture Officer said Md Habibullah said the soil of Sitakunda is suitable for bean cultivation and bean cultivation is more profitable than Boro paddy. “As a result, bean has been cultivated on 2,650 hectares of land in this upazila. This year, 47,000 metric tons of beans worth over Tk 100 crore will be produced.” Read more: Youth's success in orange farming sparks an agricultural trend in Kurigram

Train communication between Chattogram and Dhaka has remained suspended since this morning following the derailment of a bogie in Sitakunda upazila of Chattogram district. Chattogram-12: Two police officers withdrawn for alleged links to independent candidate Sub-inspector of Sitakunda Railway Police, Amzad Hossain, said a bogie of the Dhaka-bound ‘Chattala Express’, coming from Chattogram Rail Station, veered off the tracks at Siraj Bhuiyan intersection of Chattogram municipality around 7 am, disrupting rail communication. Chattogram-3: Independent candidate's supporter show-caused for statement undermining election However, the train communication on the Chattogram-bound line remains uninterrupted, he said. Mozammel Hossain, station master of Sitakunda Rail Station, said a relief train rushed to the spot for the salvage operation. Local AL leader arrested with firearm in Chattogram

A mobile court on Sunday fined Didarul Alam Apello, Ward Councilor of Chattogram's Sitakunda municipality, Tk 5000 for violating the electoral code of conduct.Md Alauddin, assistant commissioner (Land) and executive magistrate of the mobile court, slapped the penalty.According to mobile court sources, he was fined for miking in favour of AL candidate SM Al Mamun in front of the upazila complex, which is a violation of electoral code."No one will be spared for breaching the code of conduct and this kind of operation will continue until the polling day to conduct and complete the election properly,” said Executive Magistrate Mohammad Alauddin.

The body of a youth, who went missing on Friday after a lighter vessel loaded with stones sank in the sea at Nangalkot in Cumilla due to Cyclone "Midhili", was recovered from the sea coast in Chattogram's Sitakunda on Saturday. 2 motorcyclists killed in Chattogram road crash The river police recovered the body of Md. Emdadul Haque,22, from the Kumira area of the upazila this morning. Locals said they spotted the body floating in the sea coast and informed police. 609 shelters ready in Chattogram ahead of cyclone 'Midhili' Mohammad Nashir, inspector of Kumira River Police, said that upon being informed, they recovered the body from the spot. On November 17, the lighter vessel carrying stones capsized in the sea at Cumilla's Nangalkot area due to the impact of cyclone "Midhili". Two trucks set on fire in Dhaka, Chattogram Though all of the people boarding on thevessel managed to swim to safety, Emdadul went missing.

A monkey has become the talk of the locality after it went to Sitakunda Upazila Health Complex in Chattogram twice and received treatment for wounds. Surprised locals said that the wild animal was first seen in the area around a month back and since then it is frequently seen here and there. The monkey with wounds was spotted in front of the upazila health complex over the past couple of days. Dr Nuruddin Rashed, a physician at the upazila health complex, said, “I found the monkey, with wounds, sitting on the balcony of the hospital when I was about to leave work on Saturday afternoon.” Read: Endangered Lojjaboti monkey rescued in Rangamati, released in Kaptai National Park Later, he dressed the wounds on the monkey, and it left the health complex, said the doctor. The monkey again appeared at the hospital on Sunday, he said, adding that brandages were put on the monkey’s wounds. Later, it went away. “The animal seemed to be in pain and some of the wounds in the back started to rot. This could have happened due to electric shock from sitting on power lines,” he said, adding, “I wanted to know the whereabouts of the monkey when I joined the office today. The monkey was seen sitting on a branch of a tree by the hospital.” Read more: Endangered Lojjaboti monkey rescued in Bandarban

The fire that broke out at a cotton godown in Sitakunda upazila of Chattogram district yesterday (March 11, 2023) morning was brought under control this morning, around 22 hours after the incident.   Sultan Mahmud, senior station officer of Kumira Fire Service and Civil Defence, confirmed the development, saying that the fire was brought under control with the help of Bangladesh Army and Navy around 8 am this (March 12, 2023) morning. Members of the army, navy and fire service are tirelessly working to douse the blaze completely, he said. The army will brief about the incident when the fire is extinguished, the fire service officer added. Read more: Sitakunda cotton godown fire: Army, Navy join efforts to control the blaze On Saturday night, members of the army and navy joined the fire service in fighting the fire.   Meanwhile, a 10-member probe committee, headed by Chattogram district administration’s deputy director Badiul Alam, was formed to investigate the fire. The committee was asked to submit a report within 5 working days, Md Towhidul Islam, executive magistrate of the district administration, said. He said there were 2700 tonnes of cotton inside the warehouse which made it difficult to bring the fire under control. Read More: Sitakunda cotton godown fire: Army, Navy join efforts to control the blaze The fire started at the cotton warehouse of Unitex Group in Chhoto Kumira area around 10:30 am yesterday. On information, five firefighting units from two stations responded to the fire and almost brought the blaze under control around 12 pm. But as the fire flared up again, firefighters struggled to douse the fire due to a lack of a constant supply of water in the area. Six more firefighting units joined in around 8 pm last night. Read More EU releases €1 million in emergency aid for people affected by fire in Rohingya camp in Bangladesh The origin of the fire and the extent of damage could not be ascertained immediately. Earlier on March 4, six people were burned to death and around 33 sustained injuries in a fire after a massive blast at Seema Oxygen Plant in the upazila.

Bangladesh Army and Navy joined Fire Service and Civil Defence in fighting the fire that broke out Saturday morning at a cotton godown in front of a container depot in Sitakunda upazila of Chattogram. Firefighting units of the Army and Navy reached the spot around 9:30pm to assist the fire service, said Chattogram Deputy Commissioner Abul Bashar Mohammed Fakhruzzaman. Meanwhile, a 10-member probe committee, headed by Chattogram deputy director (local government) Badiul Alam, has been formed to investigate the fire. “The committee has been asked to submit a report within 5 working days,” Mohammad Fakhruzzaman added. Shafiqul Islam, station officer of Chattogram Fire Service and Civil Defence, said the fire started at the cotton warehouse of ‘Unitex Group’ in front of the ‘Namson Container Depot’ in Chhoto Kumira area around 10:30am. On information, five firefighting units from two stations responded to the fire and almost brought the blaze under control around 12:00pm, he added. But as the fire flared up again, firefighters struggled to douse the fire due to a lack of a constant supply of water in the area, senior Fire Service officer Sultan Mahmud said. Later, four additional units joined the operation, he added. The origin of the fire and the extent of damage could not be ascertained immediately, he added. Earlier on March 4, six people were burned to death and around 33 sustained injuries in a fire after a massive blast at ‘Seema Oxygen Plant’ in the upazila.  

The death toll from the Sitakunda oxygen plant fire rose to seven as another person succumbed to his injuries at Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) Sunday night, police said. "Probesh Lal Sharma, 55, of Sitakunda died at the intensive care unit of CMCH at 10:30pm. He was an operator of the oxygen plant," said Nurul Alam Ashek, in-charge of the hospital police outpost. The other deceased were identified as Salauddin (33) of Lakshmipur, Ratan Nakrek (50) of Netrakona, Md Kader Mia (58) of Noakhali; Selim Richil (39), Shamsul Alam (65), and Md Farid (32) of Sitakunda. The firefighting teams resumed rescue operations for the second day at Seema Oxygen in Sitakunda at 7am today. They searched through the debris at the blast site until late evening. However, they did not find any more bodies, according to the Agrabad Control Room of the fire service. The explosion at Seema Oxygen Plant in the Keshabpur area rocked nearby neighbourhoods Saturday, killing seven people and injuring more than 50. Chattogram Civil Surgeon Ilias Chowdhury said the process of handing over the bodies of the deceased to their relatives was underway. "Tk 50,000 was given to the family of each deceased." Thirty people are now receiving treatment at CMCH. They were initially given Tk7,000 each. Also, the authorities announced Tk 200,000 in monetary aid to the family of each deceased. Meanwhile, the Chattogram district administration formed a seven-member probe committee to investigate the fire. The committee was asked to submit a report within five working days, Deputy Commissioner Abul Bashar Mohammed Fakhruzzaman said. Also read: Govt announces financial aid for Sitakunda oxygen plant fire victims              

At least 10 people including police and Bangladesh Ansar members were injured during a clash with illegal occupants of Jangal Salimpur in Sitakunda upazila in Chattogram Thursday. The incident occurred in the afternoon when law enforcers went to visit a spot in Alinagar area where a camp of the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) will be established, said Abul Kalam Azad, Officer-in-Charge of Sitakunda police station. Six of the injured were identified as Ansar member Bablu Mandal, 28, slum dweller Md Aliraj Hossain, 26, Amena Begum,35, Amena Begum, 50, Md Parvez and Md Rasul,20. They have been sent to Chattogram Medical College and hospital, said the OC. As the illegal occupants started throwing brick chips at the administrative officers on visit, police was forced to fire rubber bullets in defence, said OC Abul Kalam. On August 30, the district administration warned of an eviction drive to the illegal occupants of  Jangal Salimpur if they don’t relocate willingly. Also read: Over 400 BNP members booked over Faridpur clash