United News of Bangladesh

An independent chairman candidate in Vatra union parishad (UP) election was attacked and injured allegedly by supporters of rival Awami League candidate on Tuesday. The attack on Abdul Ahel Bari happened at his business establishment at Pandipukur Bazar of Bogura’s Nandrigram. Locals said that the supporters of AL candidate current chairman Morshedul Bari also vandalised Ahel's business house.  READ:  15 injured in Narayanganj post-poll violence At least nine other supporters of indepent candidate Ahel were also reported injured. Later the police went to the spot and brought the situation under control.  Nandigram Police Station OC Abul Kalam Azad could not be reached by his mobile. READ:  Poll violence claims another life; injured Narsingdi man dies in Dhaka 

A 10-year-old boy went missing after falling into a roadside drain at Sholoshahar in Chattogram city on Monday afternoon. The missing boy is Md Kamal, son of Md Kawsar of Sholoshahar area. Read: 20-yr-old student dies after falling into open drain in Chattogram Witnesses said Kamal and another boy Rakib, 14, fell into the drain in front of the Land Office around 4pm while crossing the area amid drizzle. Rakib managed to come out but Kamal drowned.  Kamal’s father did not inform the matter to fire service or police instantly as he is mentally sick. Farid Ahmed, sub-assistant director of Fire Service and Civil Defence of Chattogram, said on information, divers of the fire service started rescue operation Tuesday afternoon. “Our team is searching for the child. But he has not been traced yet,” he added. Earlier on September 27, university student Shehrin Mahmud Sadia died after falling into an open drain in Agrabad Badamtali area of the port city. Read: HC issues rule on compensation over student’s death in Ctg drain On Sunday, the High Court issued a rule questioning why authorities concerned will not give compensation of Tk 10 crore to the family of university student Shehrin Mahbub Sadia. The court also directed the Chattogram District Commissioner to submit a report within two months on the actual condition of the location where the student fell.

A couple allegedly committed suicide by hanging themselves from the ceiling of their house at Mollahat upazila in Bagerhat on Tuesday morning. The deceased were identified as Jony Sheikh, 22, and his wife Nahida Aktar, 18, of Char-Gafra village of the upazila. Jony’s brother Roni Sheikh said the couple was found hanging with a scarf and a rope around their necks in the morning. Read: Murder-suicide attempt: Gazipur woman kills daughters, tries to kill herself Later, they were rushed to the Upazila Health Complex where doctors declared them dead. Soumen Das, officer-in-charge of Mollahat Police station, said the bodies were sent to Bagerhat Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy. However, the reason behind the suicide could not be known yet. A case was filed in this regard, the OC added.

Incessant showers over the past few days have damaged crops across 20,000 hectares of farmland in Faridpur district, officials said on Tuesday. Deputy director of Faridpur Agricultural Extension Department Hazrat Ali said, "20,000 hectares of crop land have gone under water. But we will give incentives to the affected farmers to overcome their losses. Our officials will survey the affected areas soon." Read: Incessant showers damage lentil, wheat & mustard crops in Narail Crops such as onions, garlic, potatoes and mustard have also sustained damage in the showers, according to farmers. "Untimely rain has taken away our last hope. We don't know how to tide over the losses," a farmer told UNB. Atul Sarker, district commissioner of Faridpur, said, "We have already asked the authorities concerned to ascertain the extent of damage. The government stands by the farmers."

Intermittent showers over the past three-four days in the coastal district of Bagerhat have inundated some 739 hectares of farmland, officials said on Tuesday. "The showers have affected mustard crops across 137 hectares, lentil crops across 193 hectares, winter crops like radish, cabbage, cauliflower and turnip across 35 hectares, and wheat crops across 17 hectares," said Md Azizur Rahman, the deputy director of the agricultural extension department. Also read: 15,520 hectares of croplands inundated in Kurigram Besides, boro seed beds across 207 hectares of farmland and Ropa Aman paddy fields across 150 hectares are suspected to have sustained damage due to the showers that began on Saturday, the official said. Also read: Incessant showers damage lentil, wheat & mustard crops in Narail From 6am on Monday to 6am on Tuesday, the district received 22.3 mm of rainfall.

A 35-year-old biker was killed in a head-on collision with a local public transport vehicle on the busy Ranisankail-Nekmorod highway in Thakurgaon on Monday night. The deceased was identified as Khokon, son of freedom fighter Abdul Motaleb of Moholbari village. Fire service sources said that on his way to Ranisankail, Khokon lost control over his speeding bike and collided head-on with a bhatvati (local transport) coming from the opposite direction on Monday night. Also read: College student dies in Panchagarh road accident A critically injured Khokon was rushed to Ranishankail Health Complex by firefighters, where duty doctors declared him dead on arrival. SM Zahid Iqbal, inspector of Ranisankail Police Station, said they had seized the bhatvati and detained its driver. "No written complaint has been filed by the family of the deceased so far. After receiving a complaint, legal action will be taken." Also read: 18 killed, 5 injured in road accident in India's West Bengal

Incessant showers over the past three-four days have caused widespread damage to lentil, chilli, mustard and wheat crops across 18,632 hectares of farmland in Narail district, authorities said. "The untimely rain will delay the cultivation of Rabi crops this year in the district, which starts from mid-November and lasts till March," Dipak Kumar Roy, deputy director of Narail Agricultural Extension Department, told UNB. Also read: Faridpur flood: Over 2000ha cropland submerged for nearly four weeks The showers have damaged winter crops like radish, cabbage, cauliflower and turnip across 1,045 hectares, mustard crops across 7,730 hectares, lentil crops across 7,545 hectares and wheat crops across 2,100 hectares, according to data. Besides, boro seed beds across 162 hectares of farmland have also sustained damage in the rain, the Agricultural Extension Department said. "Wheat, mustard, and lentil crops have sustained the maximum damage in the rain as these are planted across 70 percent of farmland in Narail," said Dipak. "However, the extent of damage could be ascertained only when the showers stop." Also read: 15,520 hectares of croplands inundated in Kurigram Tazul Islam, agricultural representative of Narail-2 MP, however, said that the district may lag in crop production this season.

A person was killed and seven others were injured as a dumping truck collided head on with a passenger bus at Jangail area of Sylhet’s Jalalabad. The accident occurred on Monday at around 2.30 pm. READ: Road crashes in Bangladesh claim 413 lives in Nov: Report The deceased was identified as Muslim Uddin, 28, son of Muktar Ali of Atgaon village under Sunamganj’s Shalla. Police citing the locals said that a Sylhet-bound dumping truck without any number plate hit a Sunamganj-bound passenger bus around 2.30 pm. The bus fell into a roadside ditch leaving one dead. Police and fire service members rescued the passengers, they said. SMP Jalalabad Police OC Nazmul Huda Khan said that one person was killed and seven others injured at the head-on collision. Of the injured three were taken to Osmani Medical College Hospital in critical condition. READ: Now HSC examinee killed in Ctg road crash The truck without number plate and the bus have been seized. No arrests have yet been made, he said.

A survey ship of Belgium-based company Jan De Nul working in the Rabnabad channel drowned near Payra port in Patuakhali on Monday. However, 10 Indonesian and two Bangladeshi crew members onboard the ship named Express-54 were immediately rescued by a fishing boat and later they reached the port by a tugboat of the company. The ship drowned seven nautical miles off the fare buoy of the port on Monday morning. Also read: Trawler sinks in Bay: 13 Bhola fishermen go missing Captain ASM Sharifur Rahman, harbor master of the port, said water started gushing through a hole beside the ship's machine room when it was out for survey work for dredging. The crews immediately sought help from a nearby fishing boat and had been safely rescued, he said. He said the process is on to pull out the drowned ship from the water. Also read: 13 stranded fishermen rescued from Bay The rescued are- master Arham Abdul Rahim, chief officer Mochamad Rizal, second officer Darmawan, chief engineer Muhammad Nur, second engineer Trai Yanto, oiler Rahmat Fadilla, AB Audi Cristian, AB Rudi Rahman, oiler Muhammad Agam Fayez Julfa, cook Jujua Anglebert, surveyor Saiduzzaman Imon, and MD Sohanuzzaman Sumon.

A 65-year old woman died and two other people suffered injuries as a branch of a roadside tree fell on them in  Nabinagar upazila of Brahmanbaria district on Monday. The deceased was identified as Rahima Begum, a resident of Bholachang village in Nabinagar municipality area. A branch of a dead tree of Roads and Highways Department fell on the three people around 11 am on Companyganj road, leaving them injured, said  witnesses. Read: 4 Banglalink officials get bail in case filed by James The critically injured woman was rushed to Nabinagar Sadar Hospital where doctors announced her dead. Nabinagar municipality mayor Shib Sankar Das said there are many risky dead trees like that beside Companyganj road which were not felled due to negligence of the Roads and Highway Department. “The accident could have been avoided if steps were taken to fell those trees in  time,” he said. Shib Sankar Das said immediate steps will be taken to remove all the dead trees in the area.