Two siblings were burnt to death and another was injured in sleep on Monday night as a fire broke out in their house at Shakhipur Union in Shariatpur. The deceased were identified as Arafat, 8, and Samia, 13. The injured sibling, Mim, 12, is in critical condition. Police quoting the family said the three siblings went to sleep after Tarawih prayers last night, and a fire broke into their room at around 10 pm. Locals rescued and rushed them to Vedorganj Upazila health complex. They were later transferred to Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn & Plastic Surgery. Arafat and Mim died while undergoing treatment there. GM Amir Hossain, in charge of Vedorganj fire service, said they are suspecting an electrical short circuit caused the fire.  

Saiful, who used to be a van-puller, now sells ‘fuchka’ (street food) near the Padma Bridge. He now earns significantly more than he did previously – thanks to the boom the locality has seen in tourism since the Padma Bridge opened in June 2022. Many day laborers, like Saiful, are taking advantage of the positive change in the area and have gotten involved in the informal tourism – earning a good living. Apart from the rise in tourists visiting various attractions in the country’s southwestern region – facilitated by the improved communication thanks to the bridge, a large number of people are arriving just to see the Padma Bridge, a modern infrastructure marvel. Many hotels, restaurants, resorts, and parks have been built near the bridge. Many have changed professions in the hope of earning more. Also read: 3rd Shitalakhya Bridge: Vehicles coming via Padma Bridge won’t need to enter Dhaka, PM says Numerous hotels and restaurants have been built in the Naodoba area of Jazira upazila, under Shariatpur district, according to UNB’s Faridpur correspondent. Several tourist attractions have been developed in Faridpur district’s Bhangar Char Rasta Mor, according to him. “I came here with my daughter because she wanted to see the Padma Bridge,” said Naimul Islam, from Faridpur. “We went to the nearest restaurant after sightseeing.”

A man was killed and five others in his family were injured when the private car carrying them overturned at Konekshwar union in the Damudya upazila of Shariatpur district. The deceased, Kawsar Majhi, 26, was a resident of the Char Voyra area of Damudya upazila and son of Barek Majhi. Read more: Road accidents in Khulna, Magura leave 3 dead The family was returning home from Dhaka Airport after receiving Al-Amin Majhi, the elder brother of the deceased. According to locals and police, the car turned upside down and fell into a nearby pond after the driver lost control due to dense fog at around 3 am. Police rescued them with the help of locals and rushed them to hospital. Kawsar died on the way to hospital, said Sofi Ullah, SI of Damudya police station. Read more: Bangladesh sees 9,951 road accident deaths in 2022, highest in 8yrs: Report One of the injured was sent to Dhaka for advanced treatment.

A 42-year-old man and his three-year-old daughter were killed and three other people injured as a private car carrying them plunged into a roadside ditch in Shariatpur early Sunday. The deceased were identified as advocate Rashedul Islam, who was an assistant public prosecutor of the district judge court and his daughter Maisha. The injured were lawyer’s wife Sohana Akter Mili, 26, daughter Merin, 6 and driver Kamrul Hasan, 30, residents of Bhasanchar area under Aungaria union of Sadar upazila.  Jahirul Islam, president of  district bar association, said Rashedul along with his family members was returning to Shariatpur from Chattogram. The car plunged into the roadside ditch in Jamtala area under Naria upazila of the district around 2.30am, leaving the duo dead on the spot, he said. Mahabub Alam, officer-in-charge of Naria police station, said they recovered the bodies from the spot and rescued the injured people.

A 32-year-old Swechchashebak League activist was beaten to death allegedly by his rivals in Naria upazila of Shariatpur district on Wednesday night.  The deceased was identified as Mamun Khan, former publicity secretary of Swechchashebak League's Naria municipality unit and son of Abdus Salam Khan. Mamun and Mokhles Bepary, organising secretary of Awami League's Naria municipality unit, had been at loggerheads over political issues, said Mahbub Alam, officer-in-charge of Naria Police Station.  As a sequel to the enmity, supporters of Mokhles attacked Mamun with iron rods in front of Naria Pilot Girls High School while he was returning home on Wednesday.  He was taken to a local hospital around 9pm where doctors declared him dead. Also read; Kushtia: 10th grader stabbed after refusing youth's proposal  As soon as the news spread, supporters of Mamun beat up Mokhles mercilessly, leaving him injured. "He is being treated at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital," the police officer said.  No written complaint has been lodged yet, said the OC.

Fish traders of Shariatpur, one of the two districts connected by the Padma Bridge, are expecting that their business will boom as the much-awaited bridge opened to traffic on Sunday. The fisheries owners expect new business opportunities with the inauguration of the country’s longest bridge. With the opening  of the Padma Bridge, a dramatic change will take place in the communication system of the entire southern region including Shariatpur. Read: Padma Bridge: Over Tk 2 cr toll collected from vehicles on 1st day The door of potential for the fisheries sector in Shariatpur district, one of the largest fish producers in the country, will be opened, said local traders and fishermen. Fish traders expect that now it will be possible to sell fish worth Tk 500 to Tk 600 crore a year in Dhaka markets. Different fish including hilsa netted from the point of Suresh of the Padma River can be easily sent to at least 40 districts in the country including the capital. This will not only benefit the existing fish producers economically but will also create many new entrepreneurs and huge employment opportunities. According to the District Fisheries Department, there are 15,182 fish farms in 2,626 hectares of land in the district. Fish are transported by road from six upazilas of the district to different parts of the country including Dhaka.

Two people have died from electrocution at Shidhalkura in Damudya upazila Saturday afternoon. The deceased were identified as Jahangir Bepari, son of Jahirul Haque Bepari and Farid Matbor, son of Mannan Matbor. According to the locals, Jahangir and Farid were electrocuted while they were doing electrical work at a house. Also read: Teenager electrocuted in Kurigram The victims were rushed to the Upazila Health Complex by their family members where doctors declared them dead upon arrival. Officer In-charge (OC) of Damudya Police Station Sharif Ahmed said steps will be taken once anyone lodges a complaint about the matter.

Transport owners of Shariatpur, one of the two districts connected by the Padma Bridge, have expressed their expectation that massive changes will be happening in the transport sector of the district after the inauguration of the much-awaited bridge on June 25. After the opening of the bridge, direct road communication will be introduced between Shariatpur and the capital Dhaka. To take advantage of the direct road communication system, transport owners of the district have already invested around Tk 300 crore to launch new buses over the Padma Bridge from the very first day of vehicular movement on the bridge. In a recent visit to the Shariatpur municipality bus terminal, the UNB correspondent found that construction works for new buses are underway at the terminal in full swing. World-renowned car brands Volvo, Ashok Leyland, and Tata car chassis are being installed in the bus bodies. Besides Shariatpur, bus bodies are being constructed in Dhaka and Savar. However, local passengers are skeptical about the standard of the locally made buses. They said buses plying on the regional routes in the district are below standard. Some of these are unfit for movement. They urged the authorities concerned to introduce a standard transportation system on the Dhaka-Shariatpur route. 

The inauguration of the Padma Bridge will be celebrated in 64 districts of the country simultaneously on June 25. There will be common programmes, including a laser show in Dhaka's Hatirjheel, all around to mark the memorable occasion. Special programmes will be arranged in four districts – Munshiganj, Madaripur, Shariatpur, and Dhaka – for five days. In a video conference Friday, the Cabinet Division asked all the deputy commissioners to make necessary arrangements for the said programmes. Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader and Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam were present at the meeting. Also read: PM: Padma Bridge brightens Bangladesh’s image as a bold nation

A tribunal here on Tuesday sentenced two people to death for killing an eighth grader after kidnapping him in Jajira upazila of Shariatpur district in 2020. The condemned convicts were Imran Morol and Sakib Babu. Also read:Bhola double murder: 2 sentenced to death The tribunal also acquitted four accused -Aktar Madbor, Sajib Majhi, Mohsin Hawlader, and Swapa Hawlader. Shariatpur Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal Judge Abdus Salam Khan pronounced the judgment with the convicts in the dock. Both the defense and prosecution have expressed dissatisfaction over the judgment saying they will move to the higher court to get justice.   According to the case statement, local youths kidnapped  Shakil Madbor and demanded Tk 5 lakh as ransom money. They later killed him on June 25, 2020 and buried the body near a pillar of Padma Bridge at Jajira end. The victim’s father, Salam Madbor, lodged a complaint with Jajira police station. Also read: Blogger Ananta killing: 4 sentenced to death Later police arrested Sakib who took Shakil to play in a local field. Based on Sakib’s information, police recovered the body of Shakil and a murder case was filed at Jajira Police Station accusing seven people.