Intermittent rains since Thursday (May 02, 2024) morning brought respite to Chattogram city dwellers from the scorching heat that has been prevailing across the country for the last several days. Rain and thunderstorm started around 9:30 am in different parts of the Port City. As rain provided relief, many expressed gratitude by posting on their social media profiles. 4 family members among 5 killed in Habiganj road accident Md Abdul Barek, a meteorologist at Patenga Weather Office, said they have recorded one mm of rainfall in the past 24 hours till 9 am on Thursday and city dwellers will likely experience more rains today. Besides, the river ports have been asked to hoist local cautionary signal no 1 and more rains with thunderstorms will likely occur in the district. According to Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind is likely to occur at a few places over Chattogram and Sylhet divisions and at one or two places over Dhaka, Mymensingh and Barishal divisions with hails at isolated places. Weather may remain mainly dry with temporary partly cloudy sky elsewhere over the country. Dhaka’s air ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’ this morning Meanwhile, a very severe heatwave is sweeping over the districts of Jashore, Khulna, Chuadanga, Pabna and Rajshahi and severe heatwave is sweeping over the districts of Tangail, Faridpur, Gopalganj and rest of the Khulna division. A mild to moderate heatwave is sweeping elsewhere over the country and it may abate from some places over the eastern part of the country.

As Dhaka once again topped the list of cities worldwide with the most polluted air, light rain brought some relief for the city dwellers this morning (March 19, 2023).  Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) has predicted rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind at a few places over Rangpur, Rajshahi, Mymensingh, Khulna and Sylhet divisions and at one or two places in Dhaka, Barishal and Chattogram divisions with hails in isolated places over the country in 24 hours till 6 pm today. Rain or thunder showers may continue for the next two days and temperature may rise within the next five days, the BMD said.  Read more: Rain brings relief from scorching heat The day temperature may fall slightly and night temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country, it said.  A mild heat wave had been sweeping over the country for the last few days.

Bangladesh will send a 46-member specialist search and rescue team and relief materials, including medicines, to Turkey Wednesday following Monday's earthquake, one of the deadliest in the world in more than a decade. Search teams from more than two dozen countries joined tens of thousands of local emergency personnel, and aid pledges have poured in from around the world in Turkey and Syria after the catastrophic earthquake that razed thousands of buildings in the countries, and the death toll kept rising, surpassing 11,000 today. However, the scale of destruction from the 7.8 magnitude quake and its powerful aftershocks was so immense that many are still waiting for help. Lieutenant Colonel Md Ruhul Amin will lead the search and rescue team from Bangladesh. The team comprises 34 members from the army and 12 from the fire service. A special flight of C-130J aircraft of the air force will be operated on the Dhaka-Ankara-Dhaka route to carry the rescue team and emergency relief and medical supplies. The special flight will leave Dhaka today and will return home on February 15, the Inter Services Public Relation Directorate said. With hope fading to find survivors, stretched rescue teams toiled Wednesday in Turkey and Syria, searching for signs of life in the rubble of thousands of buildings. Rescue crews braved freezing overnight temperatures in quake-hit areas in both countries in hopes of reaching more survivors and to pull more bodies from the rubble.      

The United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has released an allocation of US$ 9 million to help over 943,000 Rohingyas staying in camps in Cox’s Bazar district and in the island of Bhasan Char, and over 17,800 members of the host community in Ukhiya and Teknaf. This funding, allocated to six UN agencies – the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the UN Women will help provide life-saving services to refugees and contribute to an enabling environment respectful of their rights and well-being. Under the leadership of the UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh, the UN agencies through national and local partners will focus on four prioritized sectors – food security, non-food items, protection, and water, sanitation and hygiene. This funding allocation will help maintain services and life-saving support to ensure equal access for refugees, who are highly dependent on humanitarian assistance. Read: UN adopts resolution on human rights of Rohingya, other minorities in Myanmar Commenting on the allocation of the funds, UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Gwyn Lewis on Thursday said the UN in Bangladesh welcomes the decision of the Emergency Relief Coordinator to allocate these funds to the currently underfunded Rohingya response to support refugees and the host community in their daily struggle for survival. “In consultation with the government of Bangladesh and local NGOs, the money allocated from the CERF will help protect refugees, tackle gender-based violence, and contribute to an environment respectful of refugee rights and well-being,” she said. The UNHCR will allocate the funding to its national and local partners to provide monthly Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders and refills to enhance food security, provide assistance to refugees, and help refugee volunteers to deliver life-saving community-led messaging. Read: Bangladesh seeks OIC’s help to continue Rohingya genocide case IOM will also focus on LPG distribution, as well as community mobilization, training, and monitoring. UNICEF will provide water, sanitation and hygiene services through local partners including national NGOs and the Department of Public Health Engineering. In addition, UNICEF will support the social service workforce to provide psychosocial support and life skills training to children, adolescents, and caregivers. WFP will provide lifesaving food assistance and support to increase and sustain dietary diversity. Through local partners, UNFPA will provide integrated services that prevent and respond to gender-based violence while also addressing sexual and reproductive health needs, including psycho-social support and referral services. UN Women will provide life skills training and livelihood support and strengthen capacities of women's groups to provide multisectoral gender-based violence services.

Forty-three fire-affected families of Kutubdia received cash and non-food items Thursday after a blaze tore through Amjakhali Al-Amin Market of Baraghope union of the upazila in Cox's Bazar on November 18. The fire gutted 24 houses and 19 shops. Non-government organisation COAST Foundation, with the assistance of Malteser International of Germany, distributed cash assistance to 24 families and 19 shopkeepers. Each of the 24 affected families received Tk20,000 in emergency multipurpose cash support, a set of non-food items, including sanitary pads, clothes, slippers, blankets, and mosquito nets that cost around Tk5,000. Each of the 19 shopkeepers got Tk15,000 as emergency startup support to start their business again. Wednesday, COAST and Malteser conducted a rapid assessment of all-fire affected families and shopkeepers. Read: BMET gives bicycles to flood-affected students as alternative to relief Also, COAST consulted the district administration, upazila administration, union parishad, and various individuals for fire response. Shahinul Haque Marshal, chairman of Cox's Bazar Zila Parishad, Gorge Mitra Chakma, assistant commissioner (land); Rajan Ghimire, country director, and Matin Shardar, program and partner coordinator of Malteser, were present during the distribution programme. Rajan said COAST and Malteser came forward with cash assistance and non-food items to support affected households as an immediate response to the fire disaster.

The low-lying areas of Bhola district have been inundated due to tidal surges and heavy rainfall, caused by cyclone Sitrang, rendering over 20,000 people marooned. The affected people of the areas have been asked to take shelter in cyclone centres, said Bhola district relief and rehabilitation official Delwar Hossain. He said adequate dry foods have been prepared for the people in shelters. "Besides, 25 metric tonnes of rice and Tk 5 lakh have been allotted." Read Fisherman goes missing as trawler capsizes at Mongla port, 21 rescued Meanwhile Bhola deputy commissioner Md Towfiq Elahi Chowdhury said a total of 746 cyclone centres were kept ready to face the disaster. "Eight control rooms have been opened in seven upazilas." Besides, 13,660 volunteers as well as 76 medical teams are working at the field level. "Coast Guard rescue teams are also ready to deal with any post-disaster situation," said Lt Kazi Al Amin, media officer of BCG East Zone. Read 110 evacuated from isolated char in Bhola ahead of Sitrang landfall On Monday (October 24, 2022), Bangladesh Coast Guard (BCG) evacuated 110 people from Char Patila, an isolated island of Bhola. They were stranded in the middle of adverse weather conditions accompanying cyclone Sitrang.

The  Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) has undertaken an exceptional endeavour to provide over 200 bicycles to students in the flood-hit areas of the country including Sylhet instead of providing them traditional relief materials.  As part of the programme, BMET Director General (Additional Secretary) Shahidul Alam today (Tuesday) distributed 104 bicycles, helmets and T-shirts among students of six educational institutions and technical training centers including Technical Training Center (TTC), Sylhet, and Goainghat Imran Ahmad Girls' School and College.  The BMET has taken the initiative to provide 220 bicycles, helmets, and T-shirts among the underprivileged students of nine educational institutions and training centers in the flood-affected areas including Sylhet, Sunamganj, Kishoreganj, Kurigram, Netrokona and Gaibandha districts with money collected from one day's salary of BMET officials and employees. Among the students, 120 are male and 100 are female.  Read: Bicycle Price in Bangladesh with Buyers' Guide During the distribution of bicycles at Sylhet TTC, Deputy Commissioner of Sylhet Mojibur Rahman, BMET Deputy Director Rafiqul Islam, Assistant Director Kamrul Hossain, Sylhet Women TTC Principal, Goainghat Government College Fazlul Haque and other senior officials were present.  Sheikh Mohammad Nahid Niaz, Principal of Sylhet Technical Training Center presided over the function, says a press release on Tuesday evening.  Speaking at the function, BMET Director General Shahidul Alam said the initiative of free bicycle distribution has been taken as an alternative to relief to encourage skills and developmental training as a tool for sustainable development.  He said the bicycle will be a symbol of speed, good health, and success. The participation and contribution of those who can afford it can easily bring the society towards development.  BMET sources said, one day's salary of BMET officials amounting to Tk 2000,000 (twenty lakh)  was collected last June for distribution of relief among flood-affected people. As the flood situation, in the meantime, improved, the authorities decided to distribute bicycles among the underprivileged students as an alternative to speed up their lives.  The bicycles were provided under the banner of JanoShakti Krira O Sangskritik Forum, an entertainment organization for BMET officials.  The remaining bicycles are scheduled to be handed over on September 16. 

Immigration and Passport Officers Association (IPOA) has distributed food items and educationnmaterials among street children on the 47th martyrdom anniversary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Major General Mohammad Ayub Chowdhury, the chief advisor of the association and Director General of Immigration and Passport Directorate, distributed these materials among the children, said a media release. President of Immigration and Passport Officers Association Md Saidur Rahman, General Secretary Abu Noman Zakir Hossain and other leaders were present. Read: Cultural bodies observing National Mourning Day

Grameenphone (GP) and Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS) have distributed relief among the flood-affected people. GP has been facilitating flood-affected communities in partnership with the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS) to help fight the ordeal through relief and rehabilitation efforts, said a media release.   It said four medical camps have hence been deployed in Netrokona, Sylhet, and Sunamganj, providing medical consultancy and necessary medicines to the flood-affected people in the nearby impacted upazilas free of cost. Read: BTRC places indefinite suspension on GP SIM card sale The teams have been dedicated to working from June 29 and are expecting to offer treatment to more than 6 thousand patients throughout the 10-day initiative, finishing on July 8. Till July 3, a total of 2,173 patients have been treated through four medical teams. Netrokona Sadar, Barhatta, Kalmakanda, Dakshin Surma, Kanaighat, Osmaninagar, Balaganj, Bishwanath, Companiganj, Gowainghat, Bishwambarpur, and Sunamganj Sadar are the upazilas that are set to be covered under this collective effort from Grameenphone and BDRCS. Read AIBL donates Tk10 crore to PM's relief, welfare fund Besides the medical camps, soon, there shall also be 15 thousand food relief packs distributed among 15 thousand families as one week's essential food supply for each family. Earlier, GP offered 10 minutes of free talk time for its users struggling in the inundated areas to help them reach out to meet survival needs. "The sudden flash flood brought a grave crisis in the north and north-eastern belt of our nation. While our team, in collaboration with regulators, local administration, defence forces and network operating partners, fought hard to restore the emergency mobile network lifeline and connectivity to the people when they needed it the most; we have also simultaneously assessed the distressed communities' healthcare and food support needs and managed to stand by them. I am thankful to the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society for helping us reach out to the people through emergency response." - said Yasir Azman, GP CEO.   Read National Bank donates Tk11 crore to PM's relief, welfare fund

Al-Arafah Islami Bank Ltd (AIBL) has donated Tk10 crore to Prime Minister's Relief and Welfare Fund for the flood-affected people. Alhajj Abdus Samad Labu, executive committee chairman of AIBL, handed over a cheque to Dr Ahmad Kaikaus, principal secretary to the prime minister, at the Prime Minister's Office Monday. Also read: PM: Connectivity is key to national development Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina joined the ceremony online. AIBL Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Farman R Chowdhury and Bangladesh Association of Banks President Nazrul Islam Mazumder were also present, said a media statement Monday. Read AIBL launches ‘Islamic Wallet’