United News of Bangladesh

Rail communication between Khulna and other parts of the country, which was disrupted following a derailment at Uthli in Jibannagar upazila of Chuadanga district, resumed after 11 hours of suspension on Monday afternoon. The train services had remained suspended since 1 am as five bogies of an oil-laden train, KN-17, from Khulna veered off the tracks in Jibannagar upazila, said Ali Ahmed, the stationmaster on duty at Uthli railway station. No causality was reported from the incident, but four trains got stranded in Darshana, Ansarbaria and Sabdalpur Station following the incident. Also read: Derailment: Rail communication between Khulna and rest of the country suspended A rescue train from Ishwardi reached the spot around 8 am to clear the tracks by removing the bogies.

No patient diagnosed with COVID-19 died in Barishal in the 24 hours till Monday morning - a first in over two months. However, two people died with Covid symptoms during this time. Read: Barishal div sees 23 Covid deaths in single day The last time the single day death toll reported by the authorities was nil was back on June 26. Besides, 113 people were tested positive during this time while 832 recovered from the virus. Basudev Kumar Das, Divisional Director of the Department of Health provided the information to UNB. Read: Covid: Barishal division logs 20 more deaths - With the fresh numbers, the total number of cases in the division reached 43,698 while the recoveries stood at 39,190. Meanwhile the total deaths remain at 654.

Just when people were letting their guards down, thinking they had seen the worst of Covid, single day deaths at RMCH doubled on Monday. As many as 14 people died of Covid-related reasons at Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital (RMCH) in the past 24 hours, health officials said on Monday. The number was seven the previous day. Read: 9 more die of Covid at Rajshahi hospital The number of Covid-related deaths in the hospital was below 10 for the past six days after shattering all grim records in July and the better part of August. Of the fresh deaths, seven were confirmed Covid-19 patients,  six  showed symptoms of the virus and one more died due to post-Covid complications, said hospital director Brigadier General Shamim Yeazdani. Of the deceased, four were from Rajshahi, two  from Chapainawabganj, five from  Natore and one each from Naogaon, Pabna, and Meherpur. While seven  of them were men, the remaining seven  were women. Shamim said that 29 people have been admitted to the corona unit of the hospital in the past 24 hours. On the other hand, some 25 people were discharged from the hospital after recovery during the period. Read: Covid: 13 more die at Rajshahi hospital Besides, some 161 people are currently undergoing treatment in the 513-bed corona unit of the hospital. RMCH has been one of the most stretched hospitals in the country during the second wave of Covid-19, particularly since the latter part of May when the deadly Delta variant of the virus was identified in multiple samples of Rajshahi division.

About 15,520 hectares of cropland have gone underwater in Kurigram district till Monday morning as the water level in the rivers has started rising again. The water level in Dharla river has increased by 10 cm and in Brahmaputra river by 5 cm in the last 24 hours. Read: Flood in Kurigram getting worse Kurigram Water Development Board Executive Engineer Md Ariful Islam said water level in the Dharla River has risen to 34 cm above the danger level and 23 cm in the Brahmaputra river’s Chilmari Point on Monday morning. However, increased water has reduced erosion. The low-lying areas and sandbars of the district have gone under water. Till Monday, 15,520 hectares of crops have been submerged in the district. Of these, Aman is planted 15,115 hectares, vegetables are 270 hectares and seedbed is 95 hectares.

Rail communication between Khulna  and the rest of the country remains suspended since Sunday night following the  derailment of five  train bogies at Uthli in Jibannagar upazila of Chuadanga district. The bogies of an oil laden train KN-17 derailed when it entered the main line from the loop line of Uthli railway station at around 1.15 am on Sunday. Read:Derailment: Dhaka-Chattogram rail link resumes after 7 hrs Ali Ahmed, the station master on duty at Uthli railway station, confirmed the information to UNB. Although no serious   injuries were reported following the incident, rail communication between Khulna and other parts of the country remained suspended ever since resulting in immense suffering for passengers who are waiting for hours at different stations of the division. Read: Dhaka-Narayanganj rail services to resume after 2 months A rescue train arrived on Monday 8 am to clear the line by removing the bogies, however people related to the operation have informed UNB that it might take a long time.

The death toll from the tragic trawler capsize in Brahmanbaria reached 23 with the confirmation of the identity of another body on Sunday evening. The 23rd officially confirmed deceased was Jamila Begum (65), wife of Shahid Miah of Sadekpur village in Sadekpur union of Brahmanbaria Sadar upazila. READ: 20 die as trawler capsizes in Brahmanbaria; many more still missing Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Sarbik Mohammad Ruhul Amin said Jamila died on the same day the trawler capsized but officially her name was announced today for providing financial assistance to her family. Jamila Begum's family would get financial assistance of Tk 20,000, the ADC said. READ: Woman goes missing in Meghna trawler capsize So far, bodies of 23 people have been recovered as a trawler sank after being hit by another sand-laden one in the Laiska Canal under Bijoynagar upazila of Brahmanbaria district on Friday (Aug 27).

Two motorcyclists were killed as a train collided head-on with their motorcycle on the Dhaka-Chattogram railway line at Cumilla's Lalmai.  A third person on the same motorcycle was injured, and has been referred to the capital for treatment. The accident took place at Harishchar rail crossing area of the upazila on Sunday. The deceased were identified as Md. Rony (25), a CNG-autorickshaw driver and son of Md. Joynal Abedin of Padua village of Perul North Union, and Nazrul Islam (27), a confectionery owner and son of Rafiqul Islam of Shanichon village. Officer-in-charge (OC) of Laksam Railway Police Station Jasim Uddin Khandaker said besides the two deaths another person was injured in the same accident. According to locals, on Sunday afternoon, three friends left for Harishchar crossroads from Harishchar-Bhuschi road on a motorcycle. Rony died on the spot when their motorcycle was hit by the Chattogram-bound Karnafuli train while making an illegal rail cross violating the red signal in Harishchar crossing area. Seriously injured Nazrul was taken to a private hospital in Laksham where the doctor on duty declared him dead. Another injured, Kabir Hossain has been sent to Dhaka for advanced treatment.

A man was beaten to death by some youths allegedly over payment of extortion at Char Ramni Mohon in Sadar upazila on Friday night. The deceased was identified as Shafique Mollah, an auto-rickshaw driver and son of Majid Mollah of the area. Quoting local people, additional superintendent of Laxmipur police Mimtanur Rahman said some local people including Touhid and Momin repaired Asmat Ali road at their own cost as it became unfit for movement during monsoon. As they repaired it at their own cost, the two youths have been taking Tk 100 from the drivers of the vehicles which use the road. Also read: Two killed, 3 injured in Jashore as motorcycles collide On Friday afternoon, Towhid and Momin with others collected Tk 100 each from Shafique and Mintu, a motorbike rider, for using the road. In the evening, when Shafique returned through the road, seven or eight people including Towhid and Momin demanded Tk 500 from him. A scuffle took place among them over the issue as Shafique denied to give the money. Later, they beat up Shafique mercilessly,leaving him injured. Also read: Man beaten dead by neighbours in Jashore After reaching home, Shafique fell sick and started vomiting. After some time, he died at his house. On information, police recovered the body and sent it to Sadar Hospital morgue.

The carcass of a humpback whale washed ashore on the Shamlapur beach of Cox’s Bazar on Friday evening. Locals found the rotting carcass when the tide was receding. President of Shamlapur Boat Owners Association Belal Uddin confirmed the information to UNB. “Some fishermen spotted the whale at first and informed me. We  think it died around two weeks ago.” The whale is 23 feet long and 5 feet wide, said Jalal Uddin Chowdhury, the Teknaf Upazila President of Save the Nature of Bangladesh. As of filing this report, various rotten organs of the whale are floating in the sea and spreading bad odour . “Ihave just received the news and informed the concerned officials. A team of ours have already inspected the scene,” said SM Khalequzzaman, the Cox’s Bazar District Fisheries Officer.  

The hanging body of a housewife was recovered from her in-laws in Jibannagar of Chuadanga on Friday. The deceased was identified as Urmi Khatun (25). Neighbours apparently found her body hanging from the ceiling fan of her house at around 2pm on Friday. According to witnesses, her husband Ziaur left  the house with an easy bike around 9 am for his workplace. Neighbours speculated that the housewife might have committed suicide. It is to be noted that the house was empty  when her body was recovered. Urmi Khatun's husband Ziaur Rahman said that Urmi Khatun had been suffering from depression as they did not have any children despite tying the knot  8 years ago. However, her father Zahurul Haque  alleged  that she was physically abused and killed by her in-laws. When contacted, the  officer-in charge of Jibannagar Police Station Saiful Islam said no one has lodged a complaint in this regard so far. “Legal action will be taken if any complaint is received,” he added.