In a somber announcement on Tuesday (February 20, 2024), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) revealed the identities of eight Bangladeshis who met a tragic fate while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea. The individuals, embarking on an unauthorized voyage from Libya to Europe, drowned in a devastating incident that underscores the perilous journey faced by many seeking a better life abroad. The victims, identified as Sajal, Nayan Biswas, Mamun Seikh, Kazi Sajeeb, Kaisar, Rifat, Russell, and Imrul Kayes Apon, hailed from the Madaripur and Gopalganj districts of Bangladesh. Specifically, the first five victims originated from various villages within the Rajoir upazila of Madaripur, while the remaining were from Muksudpur upazila in Gopalganj. Read more: Out of options, Rohingya fleeing Myanmar and Bangladesh by boat despite soaring death toll The details were shared in a press release distributed by MoFA, which aimed to shed light on the tragic event and its impact on the victims’ communities. The ill-fated journey began on February 13, when a boat carrying individuals from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt, and Syria set sail from a Libyan coastal area with hopes of reaching Europe. The group comprised 27 Bangladeshis, 8 Pakistanis, 3 Egyptians, 5 Syrians, and an Egyptian individual who navigated the boat. However, their aspirations were cut short when the vessel capsized off the Tunisian coast in the early hours of February 14. Rescue operations later recovered the bodies of the eight Bangladeshis and one Pakistani, which were subsequently transferred to local hospitals. The foreign ministry's report further highlighted that among the Bangladeshi victims, seven were traveling without passports, indicating the desperate measures taken by individuals in pursuit of better opportunities. Read more: Bangladesh wants to boost cooperation with Libya to curb illegal migration

A supporter of an independent candidate of  Madaripur-3 constituency was stabbed to death allegedly by the supporters of Awami League candidate at Laxmipur in Kalkini upazila of Madaripur district on Saturday. Father, son killed in Madaripur road accident The deceased was identified as Eskandar Khan, 40, a supporter of independent candidate Tahmina Siddique. Quoting witnesses, Nazmul Hasan, officer-in-charge of Kalkini Police Station, said the supporters of Awami League candidate Abdus Sobhan Golap called Eskandar out of his house in the morning and stabbed  him indiscriminately, leaving him injured. Two women die under ‘mysterious circumstances’ in Madaripur He was taken to Barishal Sher-e-Bangla Medial College and Hospital where he breathed his last around 12:30 am. 3 to die for 2013 murder in Madaripur; police can't find them

A drug-addict son allegedly stabbed to death his father who refused to pay money for drugs in Sadar upazila of Madaripur on Monday, said police. The ill-fated father Jalil Boyra, 66, was a resident of Miarchar village under Bahadurpur union of the upazila. Read: 1 killed in Jamaat-police clash in Cox’s Bazar Quoting witnesses, village police member Shahbuddin Sheikh said the accused son Yusuf, who is mentally-challenged, sought money from his father for taking drugs. But Jalil denied.      At one stage, the 26-year-old-son stabbed his father mercilessly with a sharp knife, leaving him critically injured, he said. Read: Couple killed as bus hits autorickshaw in Dinajpur He was rushed to Madaripur Sadar Hospital where physicians declared him dead upon arrival, said Dr Shaolin Afroz, a physician of the emergency department of the hospital. Monwar Hossain Chowdhury, officer-in-charge of Madaripur Sadar Model Police Station, said they learned about the incident and will take legal action once complaints are lodged in this regard. Read: Two killed after being hit by a train in Brahmanbaria 

Boro cultivation has brought smiles to the farmers of Madaripur district with a bumper yield this season. During a recent visit to different parts of the district, this correspondent found that farmers are busy harvesting boro paddy. Siraj Chokdar, 45, a farmer in Lakshiganj village of Sadar upazila, said, “I have brought several bighas of land under boro cultivation. This year's yield is quite good due to the favorable weather. The current price is also good – Tk 1,100 per maund. But if the price of paddy goes down, the farmer will lose,” he said. Read more: Bumper yield of Boro paddy brings smiles to Chapainawabganj farmers Merzon Khalasi, 50, another farmer of the same area, said that due to the increase in the price of seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation and labour costs the production cost has shot up to Tk 800-900 to produce one maund paddy. Santosh Chandra, deputy director of District Agriculture Extension Department, said that 33,500 hectares of land have been cultivated in five upazilas of the district this year. Farmers have already harvested 80 percent of Boro paddy in the area and they are expected to benefit due to the bumper paddy yield and good market price of paddy, he added. Read more: 70% Boro paddy of haor areas harvested: Agriculture Ministry.

The death toll from a tragic road accident in Madaripur’s Shibchar upazila rose to 19 this noon (March 19, 2023), with three more succumbing to their injuries.  Two of the injured died on the way to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) from Madaripur, said Md Bachhu Miah, in-charge of the DMCH police outpost. He said five more injured were admitted at the hospital and are undergoing treatment. Another injured died while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Madaripur.    Read more: 4 killed, 15 injured in Tangail road crash Earlier in the morning, a Dhaka-bound bus of Emad Paribahan from Khulna fell into a roadside ditch in Madaripur’s Shibchar upazila.   Abu Nayeem Md Mofazzal Huq, officer-in-charge of Shibchar Highway Police Station, said the incident occurred around 8 am when the bus fell into a roadside ditch after its driver lost control over the wheel on the approach road of Padma Bridge, in Simana area under Kathalbari union of Shibchar upazila, leaving 14 people including the bus driver dead on the spot.  Two people breathed their last on the way to the hospital, he said.  The OC informed that 20 injured people have so far been rescued from the wreckage.   Members of fire service and civil defence and police, accompanied by locals, have been conducting the rescue operation, he said.  The identities of the dead could not be known immediately, the OC said. Speeding might have caused the accident that led to the casualties, he added. Read More: All 64 districts to celebrate Padma Bridge's inauguration

Madaripur mustard farmers are passing  very busy time in harvesting the crop as they have achieved bumper yield this year and are expecting huge profit. The farmers have been showing interest in mustard farming this year thanks to the higher price of edible oil in the market. Farmers have brought over 2000  hectares of land under mustard cultivation  this year against the previous year. According to the District Agriculture Extension department information, mustard is cultivated on 15,650 hectares of land in four upazilas of the district this year against 13,604 hectares of land in the previous year. Merjon Khalasi, a mustard farmer of the district, said that mustard is being sold at the rate of Tk 3,300 to Tk 3,500 per maund (37.32 kg). Generally, 12 to 13 maund mustard can be produced from one bigha of land costing Tk 8,000 to Tk 9,000, Merjon Khalasi added. Md. Moazzem Hossain, Deputy Director of district Agriculture Department, said that four upazilas of Madaripur got bumper production this year. We hope farmers will earn good profit this year. The government has a plan to produce 50 percent of the annual demand for edible oil in the country in the next three years, said Minister for Agriculture Dr Md Abdur Razzaque at a programme in Gazipur ecently. The minister said the mustard farmers are getting benefited financially by cultivating such hybrid varieties of mustard redesigned by the country’s agriculturalists. The Agricultural Ministry has taken a massive initiative to boost up the mustard production, he said.    

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (February 15, 2023) handed over the keys of ‘Bir Nibash’ to valiant freedom fighters, who are financially marginalized. The Prime Minister handed over keys to 5000 houses at a programme – held in Dhaka’s Osmani Memorial Auditorium – organized by the Liberation War Affairs Ministry with the Minister AKM Mozammel Huq in the chair. The PM joined the programme virtually from her official residence Ganabhaban. The houses are being given away to freedom fighters as gifts from the Prime Minister, on the occasion of Mujib Borsho and 50 years of Bangladesh’s independence. Read more: President-elect, PM call on incumbent at Bangabhaban The project, ‘House construction for insolvent freedom fighters’ – approved by the ECNEC on March 21 last year – is being implemented at the cost of Tk 4,122 crore which will come from government funds. The main objective of the project is to construct 30,000 ‘Bir Nibash’ (houses) for insolvent freedom fighters, Birangana (women freedom fighters), widows and children of martyred and late freedom fighters. Named ‘Bir Nibash’ (Home for Heroes), each 635sqft house has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a dining room, and a kitchen. This project is an initiative of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to uplift the socio-economic status of financially marginalized freedom fighters, as well as widows and children of late freedom fighters. Read More: BALID honours six freedom fighters in the month of victory The cost of building each house is Tk 14,10,382, as per the official source. Deputy Commissioners of Narail, Madaripur, Gopalganj, Gazipur and Kishoreganj, on behalf of the Prime Minister handed over the keys in their respective areas.

Members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) have arrested a war criminal and death-row convict Abdul Majid from Madaripur around four years after he was awarded capital punishment in 2019. The 80-year-old Majid is the son of Miraj Ali of Purba Moudam village under Purbadhala police station in Netrokona, said a press release signed by Farzana Hoque, senior assistant superintendent of police (media) of Rab, on Thursday. The fugitive convict went into hiding in 2015 when a case involving the 1971 war crimes was filed against four people including him with the International Crimes Tribunal in 2014. He faced charges of killing, mass killing, abduction, torture, torching, rape and looting in the case. Majid, who was the head of Razakar Bahini in Purbadhala. As a membe of  the auxiliary force of the occupied Pakistani military, in collaboration with his cohort, he killed freedom fighter Abdul Khaleq and his associates at the house of Khaleq at Badha village under the Purbadhala police station on August 17, 1971. Later, their bodies were dumped into several rivers. Though initially four people were indicted in the case later three more people were also accused in the case. Read more: 6 sentenced to death for war crimes in Mymensingh The International Crimes Tribunal handed down the death sentence to all the seven accused after completing all legal procedures in 2019.    With the 36th judgment in the case, two convicts died when the case was behind bars, two died as fugitives after the judgment was passed and the other two are still at large.

A woman with a mental disorder died Sunday afternoon after falling from the roof of a market building in Madaripur town. The deceased was identified as Noor Setara, 45, daughter of Akkas Bayati of the Kathpatri area of the town. Family sources said Setara's mother used to work as a home maid. Read: Buet student Fardin died after jumping off bridge, Rab says As her mother was late to return home, Noor Setara went up to the roof of the Big Mosque market to look for his mother and suddenly fell down. Later, She was rushed to Madaripur Sadar Hospital where doctors on duty declared her dead, said Monowar Hossain Chowdhury, officer-in-charge (OC) of Madaripur Sadar Police Station.  

NRBC Bank inaugurated its Takerhat branch in Madaripur Wednesday. Former shipping minister Shajahan Khan MP inaugurated the 96th branch of the bank as chief guest, according to a media statement. AKM Mustafizur Rahman, director and chairman of the Risk Management Committee of the bank, presided over the opening ceremony, it added. Read more: NRBC gets nod to raise Tk500 crore through bonds NRBC is an endeavour of a group of non-resident Bangladeshis. The focus of the bank is to "spread the network of financial inclusion to the marginal unbanked population to expedite economic progress."