Sylhet
Rail communication with Sylhet snapped amid flood
Rail communication beween Sylhet and other parts of the country was completely snapped Saturday afternoon amid worsening flood situation..
Sylhet railway authorities made the announcement of suspending train services around 1:30 pm.
“As floodwater entered the railway station rail communication has been suspended,” said Nurul Islam, manager of Sylhet Railway Station.
Also read: School, colleges to be used as flood shelters: DSHE
However keeping trains operational till Maijgaon station in Fenchuganj upazila is under discussion but no decisions have been made yet, he said.
On Friday., all kind of flight operations at Sylhet MAG Osmani International Airport was suspended for three days due to flood situation.
Also read: Netrakona’s rail link with other parts of country snapped due to flood
Flood situation in Sylhet started turning into a terrible disaster from Thursday afternoon as almost all the upazilas and municipal area went under water.
Flood situation turns grim: Power supply to Sylhet, Sunamganj suspended
The sufferings of flood-hit people in Sylhet and Sunamganj districts have mounted with more and more areas going under water and suspention of power supply to the two districts.
The situation turned severe with rising water levels in major rivers due to onrush of hilly water from India.
As floodwater entered Kumargaon grid power sub station in Sylhet at 12 pm on Saturday the authorities suspended power supply to the two districts, said Chief Engineer of Sylhet Power Development Board (Selling and distribution region), Abdul Kadir.
The unprecendented flood inunadated 80 per cent area of Sylhet district and 90 per cent area of Sunamganj, according to Flood Forecast and Warning Center.
Army deployed to tackle flood in Sylhet, Sunamganj
The government has deployed army personnel in Sylhet and Sunamganj districts to speed up flood rescue and relief operations, according to ISPR.
Nine units of the Bangladesh Army started rescue operations in flood-hit Sylhet and Sunamganj districts in the afternoon.
“The troops have been deployed in Sylhet sadar, Gowainghat, Kompaniganj, Sunamganj sadar, Dirai, Chhatak, Doarabazar and Jamalganj upazilas to rescue the waterlogged people from their homes by boat and take them to safe shelter,” said an ISPR media release Friday.
In addition, troops have been deployed to protect food godowns in Sunamganj and the Kumargaon power station in Sylhet.
The following five tasks are assigned to the members of the army:
1. Rescue people trapped in water and take them to safe places.
2. Selection of temporary shelters with the help of civil administration and provision of accommodation for the rescued persons.
3. Provide medical assistance
4. Assist the civil administration in maintaining food godowns, power stations and other facilities.
5. Provide food and potable water.
Floods in Sylhet, Sunamganj, Netrakona likely to deteriorate further in 24 hours: Forecast
The flood situation in the Sylhet, Sunamganj and Netrokona districts may further deteriorate in the next 24 hours, said Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre on Friday.
Water levels in 13 points of the country’s rivers are flowing above the danger level and in the next 24 hours, the water level of Teesta may remain near or above the danger level
The flood condition may further worsen in the low-lying areas of Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, Rangpur, and Kurigram districts, it said.
Also read: Flood in Sylhet: PDB warns for life safety
All the major rivers of the country are in spate.
According to the numerical weather forecast of meteorological agencies, there is a chance of medium to heavy rainfall (somewhere very heavy) at some places of the northern and north-eastern regions of the country along with adjoining states of Assam, Meghalaya and Sub-Himalayan West Bengal of India in next 72 hours.
Also read: Worsening floods threaten power supply in Sylhet: officials
As a result the Brahmaputra-Jamuna, the Ganges-Padma, the Surma, the Kushiyara, the Teesta, the Dharla, the Dudkumar and all other major rivers may continue swelling in the next 48 hours , said the forecast.
Worsening floods threaten power supply in Sylhet: officials
The flood situation in Sylhet is worsening and officials are worried that the deluge may shut down the grid.
Due to the flood, Kumargaon 132/33 KV grid substation, which supplies electricity to the whole of Sylhet, is about to be shut down.
Suranjit Singh, engineer of Kumargaon 132/33 KV grid substation said, water has already entered the switchyard of the substation.
Also read: SSC exam postponed for worsening flood
“It will not take long for water to enter the control room if it keeps raining like this. This grid substation must be shut down if water enters the control room.”
He said that the shutdown of the grid will cut off power throughout Sylhet.Since Thursday night more areas in Sylhet have been flooded. Water is rising further in the flood-hit areas.
Meanwhile, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) has been closed till June 25 as the flood situation has worsened.
Also read: SUST closed till June 25 amid flooding
SUST authorities came up with the decision at an emergency syndicate meeting Friday morning.
Besides, army has been deployed in different areas of Sylhet to control the heavy flooding, said an ISPR release.
3 lakh people marooned in Sylhet flood
Around three lakh people of five upazilas of Sylhet district have been marooned due to an onrush of water from upstream and heavy showers.
Low-lying areas, including houses, roads, educational institutions, and shops of the upazilas were inundated.
There have been heavy rains since Wednesday morning, which worsened the flood situation.
More than 300 villages, educational institutions, and roads of Companiganj, Gowainghat, and Jaintapur upazilas went under water. Forty-two shelters were opened in Gowainghat for the flood-hit people.
Meanwhile, the water of the River Surma entered houses and shops in Sylhet city. It seeped into the wholesale market at Kalighat and Mohajon Potti for the second time in one month.
Road communications among all unions of Gowainghat upazila were snapped. Around 90 percent of people of the upazila were stranded.
Purbo and Paschim and Moddho Jaflong, Purbo and Paschim Alir Gaon, Rustampur, Tuakul, and Lengura were also inundated.
READ: Flood in Sunamganj: Two lakh people marooned, road communication snapped
Tahmilur Rahman, upazila nirbahi officer of Gowainghat, said: "Many people have become marooned due to the second phase flood. The administration has prepared 42 shelters, and initiative has been taken to take the affected people there."
Meanwhile, Purbo and Paschim Laxmiprashad, Chatul, and low-lying areas of Kanaighat upazila went under water. Hundreds of people of Zakiganj upazila were affected.
Companiganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge Sukanta Chakrabarty said the roads of Sadar upazila were inundated.
According to the Water Development Board, water levels continued to rise in the rivers Surma, Kushiara, Sari, Luva, and Dhalai till Wednesday afternoon.
The water level at Surma was flowing above the danger level at Kanaighat and Sylhet points.
HC grants 6 months bail to accused Sylhet cop in custodial death case
The High Court granted six months bail to the suspended sub-inspector of police Md Hasan Uddin, one of the accused in the murder case of Rayhan Ahmed in police custody.
HC bench of Justice SM Abdul Mobin and Justice Md Atwar Rahman passed the order on Sunday.
Also read: Raihan’s custodial death: Trial of ex-SI Akbar, 5 others from May 10
Barrister Ruhul Kuddus Kazal and Abdul Alim Bhuiyan Jewel appeared for the accused while Deputy Attorney General Sujit Chatterjee represented the state during the hearing.
On April 18, the official trial in the case began with the Sylhet Metropolitan Session Judge Court Judge MD Abdur Rahim framing charges against the six accused including five police members.
On October 10, 2020, Rayhan Ahmed, 34, a resident of Akharia in Sylhet city, was tortured in police custody at Bandarbazar police outpost and he succumbed to the injuries the next day.
Following a case filed by his wife Tahmina Akter Tanni at Kotwali Police station, Sylhet Metropolitan Police found evidence of torture during investigation.
On October 12, four policemen, including the in-charge of Bandarbazar Police outpost Sub-Inspector Akbar Hossain were suspended and three others were removed from their posts in connection with the death of a man ‘in police custody’ in Sylhet.
Also read:Raihan murder: Court asks fugitive accused to surrender
Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) later arrested four accused in this case including constable Harun and on October 9 next year, arrested main accused SI Akbar Hossain from Kanaighat border area.
On May 5, 2021, PBI submitted chargesheet in this case accusing Badarbazar police outpost SI Akbar Hossain, 32, Assistant SI Asheq Elahi, 43, Constable Md Harun Ur Rashid, 32, Titu Chandra Das, 38, SI Hasan Uddin, 32, and absconding Abdullah Al Noman, 32, a journalist from Companiganj upazila.
Youth sentenced to death for killing mason in Sylhet
A court in Sylhet on Sunday sentenced a youth to death for killing a mason at Sylhet’s Beanibazar upazila in 2019.
The convict is Abdul Mubin Limon, 18, of the upazila.
Sylhet Additional District and Session Judge and Third Court Judge Md Mizanur Rahman Bhuiyan handed down the sentence.
Also read: 4 of family killed in Sylhet landslide
On December 28 in 2019, Mason Nazrul Islam was hacked to death at Nandirfal village of the upazila after being called through a phone call. Later, police recovered his body and a case was filed in this regard.
Later, the investigating officer (IO) of the case, Sub-inspector (SI) Shah Alam Bhuiyan, arrested Abdul Mubin Limon on December 5 of the same year following the call list of the deceased’s mobile phone. Limon later confessed his involvement in the murder before Sylhet’s first class magistrate Noreen Karim.
On June 29 in 2020, IO submitted a chargesheet against the convict in the court.
Momen inaugurates Sylhet Arts College
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen Saturday inaugurated Sylhet Arts College in Kumarpara, Sylhet city.
At the opening ceremony, the foreign minister said: "Sylhet has a long tradition of nurturing arts and culture. Sylhet Arts College will play an important role in upholding this tradition and instil the same spirit in the next generation."
"Elsewhere in the country, there are separate arts colleges and institutions for teaching music and dance. But Sylhet Arts College will offer lessons in different branches of arts and culture at the same time."
Fire on moving train: Dhaka-Sylhet rail communication restored after 3 hours
Rail communication on Dhaka-Sylhet route was restored Saturday afternoon after three hours of suspension following a fire incident on a train in Srimangal of Moulvibazar district, authorities said.
The rail link resumed at 4 pm as the inter-city train “Parabat Express” left for Sylhet, said Mohammad Rafiq, station master of Srimangal railway station.
The fire broke out at the power car or restaurant car of the moving train around 12:45 pm and spread soon, said Farid Ahmed, station manager of Srimangal Railway Station.
Later four firefighting units managed to douse the flames after an hour and half long effort but three of the AC compartments were charred.
Also read: 3 die as train hits pick-up van in Gazipur
UNB Sylhet correspondent reports, the fire broke out at the power car of the train while it reached near Shamshernagar Air Base and spread to two other coaches.
At first the locals tried to douse the flames and later firefighting units of Kamalganj, Moulvibazar, Srimangal and Kulaura rushed to the spot and extinguished the blaze.
Abu Bakkar, sub-inspector of Shamshernagar Railway Station, said three compartments of the train were gutted during the fire.
Fortunately, no casualties were reported as the authorities concerned managed to stop the train in time.
Sukhen Das Plabon, a passenger of the train, said he noticed smoke billowing from the train and when he along with others came forward they saw fire. Immediately, they informed the Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) who asked to stop the train.
Also read: Fire breaks out at moving ferry, doused quickly
A seven member probe body has been formed to investigate the fire incident led by additional magistrate of Moulvibazar district Abdul Haque.
The three damaged compartments are now being taken to Kulaura upazila, said station master Md Rafiq