A stone-laden truck plunged into the the Turag River in Tongi, Gazipur as a bailey bridge over the river collapsed early Saturday, disrupting traffic on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway.  Gazipur Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner NM Nasir Uddin said the stone-laden truck fell into the river due to the collapse of the bridge and vehicles bound for Gazipur are now being redirected through Kamarpara. He said traffic of the other routes through the newly-constructed bridge over the Turag River remains unaffected.  Fire breaks out at Banani slum The Roads and Highways Department has been informed of the incident and is expected to take necessary action, Nasir Uddin said.  To address the situation, Gazipur Metropolitan Police issued a traffic guideline on social media urging commuters to avoid the Tongi bailey bridge and use the Kamarpara-Munnugate route instead. Gazipur Roads and Highways Executive Engineer KM Shariful Alam did not respond to the correspondent’s calls for his comments. 

The government has taken full control of Tongi’s Biswa Ijtema ground in Gazipur following deadly clashes between two factions of Tabligh Jamaat that left four people dead and over 50 injured. Members of the army, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), police, and other law enforcement agencies have been deployed around the area to ensure security and prevent further violence. Additional forces have been deployed on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway and Kamarpara road where suspicious people are being searched and interrogated. Who is Maulana Saad and what is the controversy around him? Despite the unrest, a few devotees, followers of Maulana Saad Kandhalvi stayed overnight in a tin-shed mosque on the western bank of the Turag River. They started leaving the area on Thursday morning. Deputy Commissioner of Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP) N.M. Nasir Uddin said a public notice was issued on Wednesday prohibiting gatherings within a three-kilometer radius of the Ijtema ground. Devotees were instructed to vacate the area by the evening and the ground was cleared accordingly. The Ijtema ground will remain under government control until further notice. Four people were killed and 40 others injured in a clash between two factions of Tabligh Jamaat at the Biswa Ijtema ground in Tongi over the control of the venue early Wednesday. 4 dead, 40 injured in clashes at Ijtema venue According to Commissioner Nazmul Karim Khan of Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP), the violence erupted when followers of Maulana Saad attempted to enter the venue, prompting a counter-attack by supporters of Maulana Zubair around 3 am. Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury warned that those responsible for the violence would be held accountable.

A fire broke out at a jhut warehouse in Gazipur on Monday night. Four units of the Fire Service worked for three hours to bring the blaze under control. According to locals, the fire started at Kawsar Hossain's warehouse in the Deualiabari Chapra Mosque area of Konabari at around 1:00 am. They initially attempted to extinguish the flames but later informed the Fire Service after the fire spread to an adjacent warehouse owned by Kabir Hossain. Fire breaks out at spinning mill in Narayanganj The warehouse owner estimates the losses to be around Tk 1 crore. Senior Station Officer Md. Tasharaf Hossain of the Kashimpur Sarabo Modern Fire Service said that two units from the Sarabo Modern Fire Station and two units from the Konabari Modern Fire Station responded to the scene. No casualties were reported in the incident, but the fire may have been caused by an electrical short circuit, he added.

Four people were killed when a rickshaw was sandwiched between a truck and a covered van on Dhaka-Mymensingh highway at Bhogra Bypass area on Wednesday night. The deceased were identified as Saleha Akter, 26, Imran hossain Rajon, 38, Md Mamun, 23 and Md Dulal, 42. Collision among three vehicles leaves 3 dead in B’baria Dulal Chandra, sub-inspector of Bason Police Station, said the rickshaw got smashed between the truck and the covered van after being hit by the truck, leaving four people injured. Later, they were taken to Shaheed Tajuddin Medical College and Hospital where doctors declared them dead.

Two people were killed after being run over by a speeding train in Gazipur's Tongi on Monday night. Their identities could not be known yet but it is suspected that they were father and son, police said quoting locals on Tuesday.   Mother with 8-month-old infant jumps in front of train in Gazipur; both dead According to Sub-Inspector Choton Sharma of Tongi Railway Police Outpost, the incident occurred around 10:30 pm near the Bonmala area on the Dhaka-Mymensingh rail route. A Kurigram Express train struck the victims, killing them on the spot. Efforts are on to identify them, he said. Three killed, seven Injured in separate road accidents in Faridpur Police recovered the bodies and sent them to the morgue for autopsy, he added.

A woman and her eight-month-old baby died as the mother with the child on lap jumped in front of a moving  train on Dhaka-Mymensingh route at Satkhamair in Sreepur upazila of Gazipur district on Monday. The identities of the woman, aged about 30, and her daughter could not be known immediately. Setabur Rahman, sub-inspector of Joydebpur Rail Station, said the woman along with her baby jumped in front of the train around 10:30 am. Bogie of freight train details at Dhaka’s Azampur Later they were taken to Sreepur Upazila Health Complex in critical condition where doctors referred them to Mymensingh Medical College and Hospital. They died on the way to the Mymensingh hospital. Police suspected that the woman might have killed herself and her baby over a family feud.  

Workers of a readymade garment factory set fire to three vehicles on Dhaka-Mymensingh highway to protest the death of a security guard of the organization in a bus crash, said police on Sunday morning. The agitated workers also blocked the highway halting traffic for over an hour that caused significant sufferings to the commuters. The protesters were later evicted restoring normal traffic movement on Saturday night. Locals said an unidentified speeding bus ran over Munnaf Malitha, security guard of Ananta Casual Wear Ltd in Taragachh area under Gazipur city on Saturday night. Though being informed members of the Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) rushed to the spot, they were forced to go back in the face of a barrier from the agitated workers, said Md Shahin Alam, senior station master of Tongi Fire Station. Read: Cuet students set fire to bus protesting closure Tongi East Police Station’s Officer-in-Charge Kaisar Ahmed said the security guard succumbed to his injuries on way to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Police evicted the workers from the highway by around 10:15pm allowing the traffic movement, he added.

Workers in Gazipur staged demonstrations on Thursday, blocking the busy Chandra-Nabinagar Highway to press home demands that include compensation for injured colleagues, improved safety measures, and unpaid wages. The blockade caused severe traffic disruptions, leaving commuters stranded and forcing vehicles to take alternative routes. The protest was triggered by an accident on Wednesday near the That’s It knitwear factory of the Hamim Group in Zirani. Three factory workers were injured when a bus ran them over. In response, workers took to the streets early Thursday morning, demanding compensation for the injured, construction of a flyover in the area to prevent future accidents, and resolution of ongoing mismanagement issues in the factory. These demands are part of a broader 11-point charter presented by the workers. Meanwhile, workers from Beximco Industrial Park staged a separate demonstration on the same highway, demanding payment of one month's overdue wages. This marks the sixth consecutive day of protests by these employees. Traffic chaos in Dhaka as battery-run rickshaw drivers block streets The highway blockade caused significant hardship for commuters and local residents. Many vehicles were forced to take the Dhaka-Tangail Highway and the Dhamrai-Kaliakair regional road as alternatives. Despite these routes being available, the disruption created congestion across the area. Industrial police and army personnel arrived at the scenes to mediate and persuade workers to vacate the highways. Efforts to restore normal traffic flow were ongoing as of Thursday afternoon.

Vehicular movement on Chandra-Nabinagar highway in Gazipur remained suspended since Monday morning and the adjacent areas turned into a battle field as workers of two garment factories, including that of a Beximco, clashed with law enforcers over the payment of their dues.Unruly workers set a vehicle on fire on the highway in addition to torching a factory in Savar, forcing the authorities to shut a number of factories in Savar and Gazipur areas.In Gazipur, the workers of Beximco Industrial Park blocked Chandra-Nabinagar highway around 9 am demanding that their dues be cleared while the workers of Doreen garment factories took to the streets seeking reopening of their factories.Quoting workers, Saiful Islam, officer-in-charge of Kashimpur Police Station, said the authorities of Beximco factory failed to clear the wages of the workers after the arrest of businessman and ex-PM Hasina’s adviser Salman F Rahman.The workers of Doreen factory got agitated and staged demonstrations on the highway after they found their factory closed in the morning.On information, industrial police, police and army personnel reached the spot and tried to disperse them.A chase and counter-chase took place between workers and the law enforcers, leaving several people injured. RMG unrest continues in Gazipur, 2 highways blocked At one stage, the workers set fire to a vehicle.UNB Savar Correspondent reports: The workers of Beximco and Doreen factory entered the Amazon Knitwear Ltd, located in Ashulia Jirani Nabi Textile area and forced the authorities to suspend their production, said officer-in-charge of Ashulia Police Station Abu Bakar.At one stage, the owners and staff of the Amazon factory beat up some workers at the factory.Later, some outsiders carried out vandalism inside the factory and sent one fire that spread to the workers' colony, gutting 20 rooms.On information, firefighting units rushed to the spot and extinguished the fire after three hours.The workers of the Beximco factory have been staging demonstrations for the past seven days.

Gazipur has become a striking example of ecological degradation in Bangladesh in recent years, with 60 percent of forest land and 50 percent of water bodies converted for other purposes over the past two decades due to unregulated urbanisation and industrialisation, according to a recent study. Forest-covered land in Gazipur has plummeted from 39,943 hectares in 2000 to 16,174 hectares in 2023, marking a decline of 59.51 percent.  Similarly, the area of water bodies has fallen by 51.42 percent, shrinking from 11,462 hectares in 2000 to 5,568 hectares in 2023. China pledges more serious efforts to keep its environment, ecology clean The study, titled “Environmental State of Gazipur District: Consequences and Excursion,” was conducted by the River and Delta Research Centre in collaboration with the Bangladesh River Foundation, Prokriti O Jibon Foundation, and the Bangladesh Environment Lawyers Association (BELA). Standards mandate that areas should maintain 20-25 percent forest coverage and 7-14 percent water coverage. But, Gazipur now has just 9.49 percent forest coverage and 3.27 percent water coverage. The report highlights a significant rural-to-urban migration in Gazipur, with an urban population growth rate of 10.51 percent, while the rural population has declined by 2.05 percent. This migration has been driven largely by industrial employment, which now engages 61.52 percent of the working-age population. Industrial expansion in the district has surged, with the number of industrial areas more than doubling between 2000 and 2023.  This growth has exacerbated land resource contamination and contributed to the encroachment on forests and water bodies. In 2000, the district's land was distributed as follows: 23.44 percent forest, 6.73 percent water bodies, 50.21 percent settlement, 5.21 percent industrial areas, 10.21 percent agricultural areas, and 3.19 percent open space.  By 2023, these figures had changed significantly, with settlement coverage increasing to 65.83 percent and industrial areas to 8.73 percent. Conversely, forest coverage dropped to 9.49 percent, water bodies to 3.27 percent, agricultural areas to 11.92 percent, and open space to a mere 0.77 percent. Over the last two decades, approximately 23,769 acres—or 59.5 percent—of forest cover have been lost in Gazipur due to unchecked development. Gazipur’s rivers, canals, and wetlands, essential to its ecosystem and economy, are under severe threat from pollution and encroachment.  The study identified 247 major encroachment sites and 161 active pollution points in key water bodies, including the Turag, Labanda, Tongi, Mogor, and Chilai rivers. The Turag River, for instance, suffers from industrial runoff from Markas Beel, while the Labanda River is overwhelmed by waste, including plastic facilities, 15 municipal waste lines, and 39 visible industrial waste lines.  Encroachment has also significantly affected Mogor Khal, with 34 incidents recorded, primarily involving commercial activities and soil filling. Illegal brick kilns along the Turag River further aggravate the situation, contributing to pollution and encroachment. Meanwhile, traditional livelihoods such as farming and fishing face mounting threats. The study recommended immediate action from municipal and national authorities to address Gazipur’s ecological crisis.  Stronger environmental policies and enforcement mechanisms are crucial to prevent further degradation and restore the district’s natural balance, it advised.