Kurigram
4 killed in Kurigram road accident
Four people, including three members of a family, were killed and another injured in a head-on collision between a Dhaka-bound bus and an auto-rickshaw in the Nageshwari area of Kurigram district on Thursday night.
The deceased were identified as Jalil Sarker (auto driver), son of late Samuddi Sheikh, Shahidul Islam, his daughter Sumaiya, and his mother Sufia Begum of West Raiganj area of the upazila.
Read: 9 Hindu devotees die in India road crash
Shahidul Islam’s wife Shahnaj Begum was admitted to hospital in a critical condition.
Agitated local people blocked the road after the accident.
On information, officer-in-charge of Nageshwari police station, Nabiul Hasan and UNO Nur Ahmed Masum rushed to the spot and pacified the mob.
According to police and local sources, construction work is underway on the Kurigram-Bhurungamari highway.
The accident occurred when the night bus of Rizvi Paribahan hit the autorickshaw at 8 pm, leaving two people dead on the spot.
Read:Mymensingh road crash leaves 4 dead
The two others succumbed to their injuries on the way to Rangpur Medical College Hospital (RMCH).
Officer-in-charge of Nageswari police station Nabiul Hasan said the bus driver was detained and the vehicle compounded.
Upstream water, rain trigger floods in Kurigram
Floods triggered by onrush of upstream water and heavy rains have inundated low-lying areas in different upazilas of Kurigram district, leaving more than 2000 people marooned.
Teesta River was flowing 20cm above danger level at Kaunia point of Kurigram on Thursday.
As many as 2000 people in Gharial Danga and Vidyananda Unions of Rajarhat upazila in the district have been marooned as a result.
Read: Red alert issued as Teesta flows 60 cm above danger level
Besides, floodwater damaged Aman paddy and vegetables in the district.
Putul Rani, a resident of Namavrat village said,” Despite having supplies in stock, I can’t cook anything as there is waist high water everywhere in my house.”
“This is a terrible way to live,” she said.
Read: Teesta flowing above danger level, all 44 barrage gates opened
Hanif Ali of the same village said over the phone,” My entire home has been submerged.”
“My family members have barely eaten since yesterday. We need immediate help.”
Rajarhat Upazila Nirbahi Officer Noor Tasnim said 10 metric tons of food assistance was provided to the flood affected people Thursday morning and more will follow.
Finally, Covid jabs reach remote riverine islands of Kurigram
Notwithstanding the supply constraints, Bangladesh's Covid vaccination campaign reached the remote riverine islands of Kurigram on Tuesday morning.
The health department, in collaboration with Unicef and the district information office, took this initiative, with an aim to get the vaccination rate up in the district.
More than a thousand people got their first Covid shots at the government-run Sardob Primary School, where a vaccination centre has been set up, reports our local correspondent.
Read:Vaccination campaign for school students to begin within a week: DGHS chief
Chasing smugglers BSF raids Bangladeshi home in Kurigram border
A Bangladeshi family suffered harassment at the hands of Indian border guards who entered their frontier home while chasing drug smugglers, border officials said on Friday.
The incident occurred on Thursday night at the Phulbari border of Uttar Kuthi Chandrakhana in Kurigram Sadar.
Read:Bangladeshi man found dead at Kurigram border, police suspect BSF shooting
Local villager Rafiqul Islam said BSF members forced their entry into the house despite his protest that no smuggler was there. They misbehaved with him and his family members.
However, BSF members told the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) at a flag meeting on Friday that they entered Bangladesh by mistake while chasing the smugglers in darkness.
Read:2 Bangladeshi youths killed in BSF firing along Lalmonirhat border
Lalmonirhat 15 BGB Battalion Commander Lt. Col. SM Touhidul Alam PAC said that the situation was brought under control after the flag meeting.
The BSF guards have admitted their wrongdoing, he said.
Marjina chooses ‘Nakshi Kantha’ to stitch a better life together
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much,” said Helen Keller, an American author.
Marjina Begum, a resident of Bamoner Hat village in Ulipur upazila, has proved that stunning results can be achieved in groups and teams as Helen Keller said.
Marjina, in her early 40s, not only reshaped her own destiny but also changed the course of the lives of 360 other poor women. Her greater goal of beating poverty and living a better life saw success when he started stitching ‘Nakshi Kantha’, a traditional embroidered quilt.
Read: Boat makers in Shariatpur struggle to keep their craft alive
The journey of Marjina, a mother of two, was not that easy to become an entrepreneur. But her dedication and determination helped her reach the great goal.
She started her venture with five small sized quilts three years back, and earned some money from those that encouraged her to achieve greater feats. Marjina then engaged a few more women from her neighborhood in making ‘Nakshi Kantha’ and started selling those.
In pursuit of a common cause, Marjina shared the profit with the women she had engaged.
School Closure: 50,000 students may have dropped out in Kurigram
As students across the country are back to classrooms after one of the world's longest Covid closure, many of them missed their peers with officials concerned in Kurigram fearing that at least 50,000 kids may have dropped out due to early marriage and poverty in the district.
Teachers and concerned officials gave this observation to UNB as school reopened on Sunday after nearly 18 months amid a festive atmosphere and calls for maintaining Covid health guidelines.
District Secondary Education Officer Shamsul Alam said, “We inspected 5 schools in Kurigram Sadar on Sunday. Around 13 % of students have dropped out from these institutions during school closure. As many as 63 girls were victims of child marriage.”
Read: Reopening: Flooding robs of Kurigram students’ enthusiasm
According to “our assumptions, the total number of school dropouts in the district would be around 50,000,” he said adding “We have directed the concerned individuals to present an exact figure as soon as possible.”
After a reality check at the schools in different upazilas of the district including Ulipur and Kurigram, the UNB correspondent reported that the number of absentees was 20-25 % on average in all the institutions.
The correspondent added that most of the students dropped out due to economic reasons and a significant amount due to early marriage.
Read No tiffin, masks at a premium, & may close again: Students return to school tomorrow
Reopening: Flooding robs of Kurigram students’ enthusiasm
Although school and college students across the country returned to their classes on Sunday after a long closure for Covid, the students of many primary, secondary schools and madrasas in Kurigram district are missing out the joy as they are bearing brunt of flooding.
Some 200 schools and madrasas have been damaged by the recent floods in the district while seven schools that were washed away in Roumari, Nageshwari and Ulipur upazilas could not be reconstructed yet, officials said.
They said the furniture of many schools were damaged due to prolonged closure and flooding while the roads connecting many schools are in very bad shape.
Read: Flood in Kurigram getting worse -
During a recent visit to Sardob Government Primary School along the Dharla River in Sadar upazila, the UNB correspondent found its ground fully under floodwater.
Still, two students came to their school to submit their assignments wading through waist-deep water.
Expressing his fear over the poor presence of students, Atul Chandra Roy, headmaster of Sardob Government Primary School, said, “Water is everywhere around the school. The roads connecting the school got damaged.”
Matiar Rahman, a guardian of the school, said, “The road became unfit for movement as a number of big holes have developed on it, and it is just impossible for students to use this road.”
Read: Flood, erosion leave 500 families homeless in Kurigram
More worrying is that seven schools have recently gone into the gorge of the river due to its bank erosion.
Bandula Kura Government Primary School in Ulipur upazila, Akbar Ali primary government school in Nageshwari upazila, Gatiasham Bagurapra Government Primary School in Razarhat upazila are among those.
Meanwhile, Faluarchar Char Government Primary School and Ghughumari Government Primary School in Roumari upazila had been shifted last year due to erosion by the river.
Now the furniture and valuables of the schools are getting damaged for lack of maintenance as those have been kept under the open sky.
Read Fight the Flood: Safety measures to take before, during, after floods in Bangladesh
Abdul Gafur, headmaster of Choto Kalua Government Primary School in Sadar upazila, said, “His school building stands threatened by erosion. Although the school reopened on Sunday, the presence of students was very thin.”
Fazlur Rahman, headmaster of Sardob Ideal High School, said, “Many poor students, from class VII to X, went to different districts of the country in search of work due to the pandemic while many girl students have become victims of child marriage. So, the presence of students is now very low.”
Shahidul Islam, Kurigram District Education Officer, said steps have been taken to ensure the continuation of smooth educational activities in the flood-hit schools.
On Sunday, the students of schools and colleges in Bangladesh returned to their classrooms with much enthusiasm after an 18-month closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Read Loom industry badly damaged by flood in Sirajganj
Lightning kills two in Kurigram
Two persons were killed and another one sustained injuries after being struck by lightning at Karaibarishal in Chilmari upazila of Kurigram district on Friday afternoon.
The deceased were identified as Jhangir Alam, 30, son of Tamsher Ali, and Al Amin, both residents of the upazila.
Abu Taleb Sarkar, chairman of Ashtamir Char in the upazila, said that lightning struck the three when they were washing rotten jute in a water body in the area around 3 pm.
READ: 2 killed by lightning strike in Manikganj
"While Jhangir and Tamsher died on the spot, Samad sustained injuries and was rushed to a local hospital for treatment," he added.
Lightning in Bangladesh
Lightning strike has turned into one of the deadliest natural disasters in Bangladesh, claiming over 200 lives every year.
According to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, 2,164 people died in lightning strikes in the country from 2011 to 2020.
At least 216 people die every year on an average in lightning strikes, more than by floods, cyclones and other natural calamities.
READ: 2 Rohingyas killed by lightning strike in Cox’s Bazar
Experts say that about 70 percent of the total lightning strikes usually occur between April and June, and advise everyone to move with caution during this time.
Kurigram road crash leaves 3 dead
Three people were killed and three other sustained injuries in a collision between an auto-rickshaw and a tractor in Kurigram on Sunday.
The deceased were identified as Habibullah,22, a college student, Rabeya Khatun,62,and Nur Ali,55.
The accident occurred near the Kurarpar area on the north side of Kurigram Dharala bridge road.
Also read: 2 killed in Dhaka road accidents
Officer-in-Charge of Kurigram sadar police station Khan Md Shahriar said the Kurigram-bound autorickshaw collided with the tractor coming from the opposite direction, leaving Habibullah and Rabeya dead on the spot.
Another passenger, Nur Ali, succumbed to his injuries at Kurigram General Hospital, said Dr Pulak Kumar Sarkar, resident medical officer of the hospital.
Of the injured, a passenger named Nur Mohammad was referred to Rangpur Medical Hospital as his injuries were critical, said the doctor.
Also read: 7 die in separate accidents in Bagerhat
Another passenger Habibur Rahman and autorickshaw driver Iman Ali are being treated at Kurigram General Hospital.
Bangladeshi man found dead at Kurigram border, police suspect BSF shooting
A Bangladeshi man was found dead early hours of Saturday at Datvanga border in Rowmari upazila of Kurigram and a local police official suspected that he might have been killed by Indian Border Security Force.
The deceased, identified as Sahibor Rahman,40, hailed from Kauniar Char village along the border.
Assistant constable of Kurigram-35 BGB GS branch in Jamalpur, Mukit said around 12 am a BGB patrol team heard three to four rounds of bullet fired near international pillar number 1054. The patrol found none when it reached the spot.
Also read: 2 Bangladeshi youths killed in BSF firing along Lalmonirhat border
Around 1 am locals informed BGB a villager named Sahibor had gone towards the border and he died there. Police at Roumari were informed of the incident, he said.
Until now BSF didn’t confirm any firing at the border, said the BGB constable.
According to locals Sahibor was shot by Dwipchar camp BSF members while he was seen with cows close to the border. Later villagers brought his body to his home.
Datvanga Border Outpost commander Joyen Uddin said we informed the police after a man was reported shot dead at his home.
Also read: BSF handovers to BGB 5 Bangladeshis held in Fulbari border
Rowmari police station’s officer-in-charge, Montasir Billah said they are suspecting Sahibor was shot by BSF members.
A team was sent to recover the body from his home, he said.