Friday marked the 79th birth anniversary of the late eminent Bangladeshi printmaker Kalidas Karmakar. To commemorate the Faridpur-born and internationally renowned artist's birth anniversary, a grand event took place at Ambika Maidan in Faridpur city. Born on January 10, 1946 in Faridpur to a family of goldsmiths and artisans, the internationally renowned maestro cemented his legacy as one of the most respected artists of Bangladesh. On Friday afternoon, guests inaugurated the program with releasing balloons and lighting lamps, which was followed by a drawing competition for children and a cultural program, under the patronage of the artist's family. Over a hundred children from various schools in the city participate in the drawing competition. Additionally, local artists showcased musical performances, and the celebration was complemented with a cake cutting ceremony. Members of Kalidas Karmakar’s family, leaders of the cultural organization, and distinguished individuals were present at the event. Regarding the event, Kalidas Karmakar’s younger brother Proshanta Karmakar Buddha said, "Today is the 79th birth anniversary of the eminent artist, my elder brother Kalidas Karmakar; and to enlighten our next generation of artists about his life and works, we organised the event from the family." AR-VR exhibition featuring July uprising posters opens at BSA "Throughout his entire life, Kalidas Karmakar worked to elevate the country's art to the world; he was a globetrotter throughout his life and had many options to settle abroad, but he always chose his motherland and became an internationally acclaimed artist. The art competition we have arranged today will not have any top place holder, rather we want them to draw as they wish and flourish their artistic talent, just like Kalidas Karmakar," he added. Rezaul Karim, a visitor, said, "The Ekushey Padak-winning artist Kalidas Karmakar is the pride of our Faridpur. We are extremely happy that today we are being able to celebrate his birth anniversary with this special event at his birthplace." "Artist Kalidas Karmakar is a globally acclaimed artist, but we were unable to properly celebrate his eventful life and works," stated Shipra Goswami, a local women's leader. "In order for the next generation to learn about our great artist, it is the duty of both the government and the people of our local community to plan and organize such events." At the ceremony, Kalidas Karmakar's younger brother Proshanta Karmakar Buddha informed that an archive in Faridpur is being established to preserve the eminent artist's work. An art college, in honor of the 'alluvial' artist, is also planned to be established in Faridpur, Prashanta Karmakar Buddha stated. A maestro of printmaking especially viscosity printing, Kalidas Karmakar’s diverse artworks featuring metallic and other objects, handmade paper, and oil on canvas prints have been widely exhibited throughout South Asia, the Middle East, Europe, the United States and many other places across the world. Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin’s 110th birth anniversary being observed Known as the ‘Alluvial Man’ in the country's art sphere, Kalidas began his career in paintings through assembling metal objects in the 1970s and with prints, he began to explore mythical images in the ‘80s, opening up new possibilities for etching and aquatint. His maiden solo art exhibition was held at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on August 7, 1976; and more than 50 of his exhibitions were held in 70 countries across the world. Throughout his illustrious career, he received multiple prestigious scholarships and fellowships, including the Polish Government Scholarship in Graphic Art at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Art, Warsaw University; the French Government Superior Scholarship in Fine Arts for research in multicolour etching at Atelier-17, in Paris; Japan Foundation Fellowship on Japanese Woodblock Printing at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music; ICCR Special Scholarship for research in Contemporary Modern Sculpture, West Bengal Lalit Kala Academy Studio; and Asian Cultural Council New York, Fellowship with Artist Residency program in the US, to name a few. He was one of the advisers of Gallery Cosmos and the modern state-of-the-art printmaking studio Atelier71 at the gallery venue in Cosmos Centre, Malibagh in the capital, for which he had always shown great dedication. He was engaged with the gallery till his death on October 18, 2019, following a heart attack. For his remarkable contribution to the Bangladeshi fine arts, Kalidas Karmakar was awarded the Shilpakala Padak in 2016 and the Ekushey Padak in 2018.

Police recovered the body of a 70-year-old caretaker with his hands and feet tied, from a doctor’s house in Alekhaar Kanda village of Nasirabad union under Bhanga upazila in Faridpur. The deceased, Wahab Matubbar,  a resident of nearby Tujarpur village, had been serving as the caretaker of the house for many years, said police on Thursday. The body was found on Wednesday night. Assistant Superintendent of Police (Bhanga Circle) Md Asif Iqbal said that the house belonged to the late Dr Jalal Uddin, whose wife and three daughters live in Dhaka but occasionally visit the property. Farmer beaten to death over ‘forbidding marijuana consumption’ in Sirajganj “Wahab Matubbar was entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining the house. On Wednesday around 10pm, locals informed us about his body lying near the second-floor rooftop door,” Asif Iqbal said. Upon receiving the information, police and a team from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrived at the scene and recovered the body. The motive behind the murder is yet to be determined, and investigations are ongoing, he added.

Five people were killed and four others injured as a microbus fell into a pond after being hit by a train on  Gerda Level crossing on Rjabari-Bhanga rail route in Sadar upazila of Faridpur district on Tuesday. Four of the deceased were identified as Sayem, 40, son of Masum Sharif, Sadia Zahir, 45, Rani Sharif Bhuiya, 67 and Raihan, 11, all from Narayanganj district while the identity of another deceased could not be known immediately. The Munshibazar-bound microbus from Gerda plunged into the pond near the rail tracks after the Dhaka-bound Madhumati Express train from Khulna hit it while it was passing the unauthorised level crossing around 12:15 pm, leaving three people dead on the spot and six others injured, said Superintendent of Police Abdul Jalil. The injured were taken to Faridpur Medical College and Hospital where the doctors declared two of them dead. The microbus got smashed as the train dragged the microbus 100-150 yards along the tracks. On information, a fire fighting unit rushed to the spot and recovered three bodies from the pond, said Nazrul Islam, senior station officer of Faridpur Fire Service. However, the firefighters managed to pull the microbus from the pond but no body was found inside it, he said. Takdir Hossain, Station Master of Faridpur Rail Station, said there is no authorised level crossing in the area. 61 BNP men acquitted in a case in Sylhet  

Three people were killed and seven others sustained injuries in two separate road accidents in Faridpur  on Monday night. The deceased were identified as Tajim Sardar,20, Shaon Matubber,24 and Md Milon, 25, and injured Khalid,1,  another motorcycle passenger.  The identities of six other injured could not be known yet. In the first incident reported  around 8:30 pm, a collision between a truck and a motorcycle in Nagarkanda upazila on the Dhaka-Khulna Highway claimed the lives of two friends. Tajim died on the spot. Shaon succumbed to his injuries at Bhanga Hospital and Khalid was critically injured and is undergoing treatment, said police. Former Chhatra Dal leader killed in Manikganj factional clash Sub-Inspector (SI) Mohammad Mamun of Bhanga Highway Police Station said that the motorcycle, coming from Bhanga, was hit by an unidentified truck heading in the opposite direction. A legal process is underway. On the other hand, a man was killed and six people were injured in a road accident in Madhukhali upazila of Faridpur. On Monday afternoon, a car of Golden Line Paribahan from Faridpur collided with a car of Sraboni Construction Limited coming from the opposite direction at Madhukhali Upazila's Maskandi and the bus fell into the ditch. The helper of the bus was killed on the spot and six others were injured. Girl aged 8 stabbed dead by ‘evil stepmother’ in Natore; father attempts suicide The injured were rushed to nearby medical facilities for treatment. Police said, further investigations are ongoing.

Overspeeding of buses and movement on the wrong side of the road were blamed for the deadly road accident that left five people killed and 27 others injured in Faridpur Sadar upazila early Tuesday, according to authorities. Maruf Hossain, assistant superintendent of Faridpur Highway Police, said the collision occurred between a Jhenaidah-bound bus of Green Express and a Dhaka-bound bus of Khagrachhari Paribahan carrying some 40 workers for brick kilns when the Green Express bus was running on wrong side in Mallikpur area of Faridpur Sadar around 4am. He held over speed and movement on the opposite side responsible for the accident that claimed five lives including supervisor and helper of the Khagrachhari Paribahan. The deceased were identified as Abu Bakkar, Babu, Pikul, Md Mohsin, Nahid. Of them, Moshin was supervisor and Nahid was helper. Read: 20 dead, 24 injured in Sylhet division road accidents in Sept The workers were going to Dhaka from Satkhira’s Shyamnagar upazila to seasonally work for brick kilns in Dhaka, he said, adding that most workers were asleep during the accident. All the 27 were admitted to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical College Hospital in Faridpur while condition of the six injured was stated to be critical, he said. One of the injured was shifted to Dhaka for better treatment, said Dr Mahmuduzzaman, a physician of the hospital. Faridpur Deputy Commissioner (DC) Md Kamrul Hasan Molla and Superintendent of Police (SP) Md Abudl Jail visited the spot on Tuesday morning. The DC said each family of the deceased was distributed Tk 25, 000 and Tk 10, 000 to each family of the 17 injured. Read more: Two killed in Dinajpur road accident He said a probe committee will be formed to find out why such accidents happen there repeatedly. Echoing highway police officer Maruf, SP said the doziness of the drivers might be the reason behind the accident. District labour organisations suggested keeping two drivers for a long route journey.

A head-on collision between two buses left five people dead and at least 20 injured in Mallikpur Sadar Upazila of Faridpur early Tuesday, police said. The crash involved two buses, one belonging to 'Jhinaidah Paribahan' coming from Dhaka to Jhinaidah, and the other from 'Green Express' heading to Dhaka from Jhenaidah. According to highway police, at least 15 of the injured have been admitted to Faridpur Medical College Hospital. However, the identities of the deceased and injured are yet to be confirmed. 2 killed in Bogra road crash while going to attend funeral Highway police and fire service personnel have jointly conducted rescue operations at the scene, said Karimpur Highway Police Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mohammad Salauddin Chowdhury. The buses involved in the accident have been seized and brought to the Karimpur Highway Police Station, he added. 

Two college students died apparently after drinking toxic alcohol in Faridpur town on Saturday. The deceased were Puja Biswas,20, daughter of Sadhan Biswas from Debila village in Shalikha upazila of Magura and first year student of a college and Ratna Saha,26, daughter of Ratan Kumar Saha from Amgram in Boalmari upazila of Faridpur  and a  student at Government Rajendra College. According to the victims' families and hospital sources, the two students used to live in a rented house in Kanai Matbar Mor area at Alipur in Faridpur town. Brother ‘kills’ sister, sister-in-law over land dispute in Meherpur After returning from a Durga Puja festival on Friday evening, they fell sick. Bithi Saha, another tenant of the house, said that as their condition worsened, they were rushed to Faridpur Medical College Hospital around midnight. Hospital sources one of them was brought dead to the hospital while the other passed away around 4 am while undergoing treatment. Kotwali police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Asaduzzaman said the bodies was sent to Faridpur Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy. The exact cause of their death will be revealed after the autopsy, he added.

Following the announcement of a Tk 50,000 bounty for catching a Russell’s viper alive, residents along the Padma riverbank in Faridpur have become desperate to capture the snakes. Last Thursday, Shah Md Ishtiak Arif, general secretary of the Faridpur district unit of the Awami League, announced the Tk 50,000 bounty for each live Russell’s viper in the Kotwali area of Faridpur. He made the announcement during a speech at a meeting over the party's founding anniversary. What to do when you encounter a Russell's Viper: Environment Ministry issues guidelines In response to the announcement, Rezaul Khan, a farmer from Aliabad union, found a Russell’s viper while working on his land and captured it, confining the snake in an aluminum pot. He then took the snake to Ward Councillor Awlad Hossain, who instructed him to submit it to the local forest department and obtain an acknowledgement letter. However, Rezaul expressed frustration as the forest department authorities neither accepted the snake nor provided an acknowledgement letter. Over the past two days, several snakes have been caught and taken to the forest department, creating chaos as people sought receipts for their captures. Health Minister orders ensuring adequate stock of Russell's Viper antivenom in all hospitals Golam Kuddus Bhuiyan, Divisional Forest Officer, stated that there is no legal provision for catching these snakes, and doing so is considered illegal. "We can’t provide any acknowledgement letter for this. So far, three people have tried to submit snakes expecting a bounty until Sunday noon. We are facing a problem," he said. Meanwhile, Rezaul took the snake to the Faridpur Press Club on Saturday night.

Residents of Faridpur staged a protest today (May 05, 2024) at the railway station, demanding a stoppage for the Chandana commuter train that travels from Rajbari to Dhaka.  The protest began at 5:15 am. The train, which had departed from Rajbari, arrived at Faridpur at 5:40 am. During the protest, demonstrators physically halted the train and expressed their discontent through a peaceful demonstration. They also welcomed the train's conductor and other staff with flowers as a gesture of goodwill despite their grievances. The protestors addressed the inconvenience caused by the absence of a scheduled stop at Faridpur station, which denies local passengers the facility to travel conveniently to Dhaka.  Sylhet lands in darkness as Ashuganj power grid collapses Speakers at the protest, including Abrar Nadim Itu, Sharif Khan, Tuhin Bin Alamgir, Ashish Kumar Kundu, Selim Mia, Ali Makim, Iqbal Hossain, Sohan, and Arif Sheikh, emphasized the need for the stoppage to facilitate easy travel for Faridpur residents to and from the capital. In response to the protest, the train's conductor, Mahibul Islam, immediately contacted higher authorities to relay the concerns raised. He mentioned that a decision regarding the stoppage might be announced later that day. Railway sources confirmed that as of Sunday, the Chandana commuter train began operating commercially on the Rajbari-Bhanga-Dhaka route, following its official inauguration on Saturday. However, the lack of a stop at Faridpur station has caused significant dissatisfaction among local commuters, who have urged the railway ministry and relevant officials to urgently address this issue and implement a stop at Faridpur for the benefit of the local populace. Gazipur train derailment: Salvage operation still on 24 hours post-collision

Thousands of villagers on Tuesday clashed with law enforcers as the public demanded the arrests of the accused involved in the brutal deaths of two construction workers in a mob beating following a fire at a temple in Madhukhali upazila of Faridpur last Thursday (April 18, 2024) night. Some members of the law enforcing agencies and villagers were injured in the clash that lasted for around three hours on Dhaka-Khulna highway but the exact number of the injured could not be ascertained. One of the injured was sent to Bangabandhu Sheik Mujib Medical College Hospital in the district due to critical condition, confirmed Madhukhali police station’s Officer-in-Charge Miraj Hossain. Witnesses said thousands of villagers formed a human demanding arrest of the accused on Dhaka-Khulna highway in Madhukhali Sadar in the morning and later brought out a protest procession which started heading towards Dumain Panchapalli where the lynching occurred last Thursday. Read more: HC directs judicial inquiry to identify those responsible for topsoil depletion in Satkania Being barred from the law enforcers, the villagers became angry over the matter and started hurling brickbats targeting the enforcers, resulting in a chase and counter-chase for the three hours. Due to the clash, hundreds of vehicles got stuck on both sides of the road, causing immense suffering amid the scorching heat. Deputy Commissioner Md Qamrul Ahsan Talukder said he tried to assuage the agitated villagers but they didn’t pay heed to it. “On behalf of the administration, we will consider the demand for which you are agitating with utmost importance. But the protesters did not respond to the administration's call and continued their programme,” he said. Additional superintendent of police Md Imdad Hossain said following the Panchapalli incident, protesters tried to block the road from Madhukhali Sadar to Kamarkhali, while police tried to disperse them by firing tear gas and blank bullets at some places. “We completely cleared the road by 3 pm. Vehicular movement is now normal,” the police officer said. Read more: Money Embezzlement Case: HC issues rule on bail of Major Mannan and 6 others