United News of Bangladesh

Fatikchaari, Aug 27 (UNB)-  An uneasy calm prevails in the  College Road area in Fatikchhari upazila of Chittogram following the issuance of section 144, prohibiting assembly of five or more people, holding of public meetings, and carrying of firearms. The local administration issued the section 144 on Friday to avoid imminent clash as two disputing parties of the ruling Awami League led by Nazim Uddin Muhuri, general secretary of Upazila Awami League and Upazila Chairman Abu Tayyab announced a program in the premises of Fatikchhari Government University College  and auditorium at the same time. Read: Section 144 imposed in Thakurgaon temple area As a result, neither of the groups were unable to hold their pre scheduled program on Friday, but local Chhatra league activists, followers of the upazila chairman  held a press conference briefing on the development . When contacted, Upazila Awami League publicity secretary Borhan Uddin said, "Upazila Chhatra League announced a three-day program on the occasion of Bangabandhu's martyrdom anniversary." Upazila Awami League general secretary Nazim Uddin Muhuri and other upazila leaders were invited. However, a section of the Upazila Mahila League called for a retaliatory program in the same venue at the same time  under the banner of Awami Paribar.” Fatikchhari Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mohammad Rabiul Islam confirmed the information to UNB. “ Additional police have been deployed in Fatikchhari and the situation is currently under the control of the law enforcement agencies.”    

Following the downpours and incessant rains for the last few days, the water level of all the rivers in Kurigram has been increasing, making the flood situation in the district worse. The water level in the Dharla River has risen to 22 cm above the danger level and 9 cm in the Brahmaputra river’s Chilmari Point, said local Water Development Board (DWB) officials at 3 pm on Friday. They said, the flood situation in the district has been deteriorating. At least 20,000 people in the low-lying areas along the river have become surrounded with flood water. More than 450 sand-islands in the district have been flooded, leaving people in dire straits. Read: Teesta turns turbulent in Kurigram; leaves 100 families homeless Many have already moved and taken shelter to high lands. Vegetables and paddy fields in the flooded area have been under in water for several days. According to the district agriculture department, so far, 7,000 hectares of land in the district have been submerged. Deputy Commissioner (DC) Mohammad Rezaul Karim said sufficient relief has been made available to the flood-affected. “Already nine upazilas of the district have been allotted with Tk 12 lakh in cash and 280 MT of rice. These will soon be distributed by UNO and public representatives in flood-hit areas,” he said.

No Covid-related deaths have been reported in Chuadanga district in the last three days, health officials said Friday. In the last 72 hours, there has been no death due to coronavirus infection or its symptoms in the corona unit of Sadar Hospital. After a long time, the people of Chuadanga saw zero death rate on the last three days- Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. However, in the last 24 hours, nine of 124 samples tested have resulted Covid-19 positive. Read: Covid cases, fatalities continue to fall in Bangladesh Chuadanga Civil Surgeon A.S.M. Maruf Hasan said that in the last 24 hours, nine people have been newly infected with the coronavirus. Of them six were in Sadar upazila, two in Damurhuda upazila and one in Jivannagar upazila. During this time, 31 people were discharged as they recovered, he said. The infection rate in the district came down to 7.25 percent So far 6,631 people were infected in the district of which 5,882 have recovered.

A 25-year-old youth was found dead under mysterious circumstances at a rehabilitation centre along Nobogram Road in Barishal in the early hours of Friday. The deceased was identified as Chandan Sakar, 25, son of Chittaranjan Sarkar of the Barapaika area in Agailjhara upazila. Read: 4 girls attempt suicide at Social Services Dept-run rehab centre Chandan, a drug addict, was admitted to Holy Care Drug Rehabilitation Center on August 7, according to his family members, who suspect foul play. Sarwar, a volunteer at Holy Care, said, "I was told around 3.15am that someone had ended his life in the washroom. I rushed there only to find Chandan hanging from the grille of the window with a towel." On information, police took the body in their custody and sent it to the morgue of Sher-e-Bangla Medical College and Hospital for an autopsy. Read:Youth found dead in Thakurgaon Though, the rehab staff claimed that Chandan had committed suicide, the family suspect he was murdered. One of his relatives said, "If Chandan had committed suicide, then why did the rehab staff bring the body down before the cops reached the spot." Meanwhile, other patients at the rehab centre claimed that Sarwar, in charge of the volunteers, often beat them up. Chandan Sarkar was also thrashed around 10.30 on Thursday, they alleged. Read:Father of Awami League leader found dead in a Barishal house, police suspect murder Mainul Haque Tamal, manager of Holy Care, said that the body was taken away by police for post-mortem. "We will wait for the police probe." Shahjalal Mallick, sub-inspector at Kotwali Model Police Station, said the body had bruises. "We will investigate the death," he said.

Experimental ferry movement began on Thursday from newly built Madbar-Mongolmajhi terminal at Jajira in Shariatpur to protect Padma bridge from accidents. The construction of the new terminal in Madaripur was completed on Wednesday. To protect the bridge piers from collision with ferries the authority determined Majhirghat-Shimulia as the new route replacing Simulia-Banglabazar route. Executive Engineer of BIWTC Dhaka division Motiur Rahman said movement of passenger and freight ferries on Simulia-Bangla Bazar route will remain suspended until the strong current eases. Read Authority places lighted buoy to protect Padma Bridge from ferries Until then small ferries can move on this route through the river channel to the downstream to avoid hitting the piers of Padma bridge, he said. Assistant Technical Engineer of BIWTA Dhaka division Faisal Hossain said the construction work of the terminal was done promptly to inaugurate officially by August 7. At the moment ambulances, corpse carrying vehicles, and vehicles used for government work will move on the new route carried by small ferries as the adjoining road at Jajira is not wide enough, he said. Read Ferries plying around Padma Bridge to get outer rubber layer A decision will be made later on whether other vehicles will be allowed to move when the road gets widened, said the official. From August 18, ferry movement on Simulia-Bangla Bazar route was suspended after three ferries hit the bridge pier.

A mentally disturbed woman allegedly drowned her four-month-old child in a roadside ditch in Bheramara upazila of Kushtia Wednesday. The deceased was identified as Yaqub Ali, son of Mohan Ali of Chakmadia village. His mother has been arrested for the alleged crime, police said on Thursday. Read: 3 Rohingya children drown at Bhashanchar Locals told UNB that Akhi Khatun had on a number of occasions tried to kill the baby and that was the reason why the boy was being taken care of by his grandmother. On Wednesday, Akhi brought the child home and later threw him in the ditch near her house. Locals informed the police after spotting the body floating in the ditch. Read:Bhasan Char escapees: 2 children's bodies wash ashore On information, the police fished out the body and took the woman into custody. Daulatpur Police Station OC (Investigation) Shafiq said Akhi had confessed the crime.

Two men were crushed to death by a speeding bus when they fell off their bike after ramming a pillar of an under-construction flyover at the busy Pangsha College junction on the Rajbari-Kushtia regional highway on Thursday. The deceased were identified as Muktar Hossain, 38, son of late Abul Hossain of the Housing Area of Kushtia Sadar upazila, and Rakib Uddin, 40, son of late Khaleq Sheikh of South State of the upazila. Read: 3 die in Sirajganj road crash The accident occurred in the small hours of Thursday when Rakib and Muktar were on their way to Dhaka from Kushtia. Eye-witnesses said that the bike crashed into the under-construction flyover at a high speed. Both the riders lost balance and fell from the two-wheeler. Unfortunately, they came under the wheels of the bus and died. Sub-inspector Atiqul of Pangsha Highway Police Station said the duo died on the spot. "Their bodies have been handed over to their family members," he said. Road accidents in Bangladesh At least 2,329 people, including 291 women and 381 children, were killed and 4,361 others injured in 2,159 road accidents across the country in the first half of this year, according to a report published in July. Read:2 army personnel killed in Sirajganj road crash It says the road accidents occurred on various highways, national, inter-district and regional roads between January 1 and June 30 across the country. Shipping and Communication Reporters Forum (SCRF), a platform of journalists, prepared the report based on news items carried by 22 national dailies, 10 regional newspapers and eight online news portals and agencies.

Four people were arrested on Tuesday night over robbery on Dhaka-bound night buses in Chapainawabganj. Captain of Rab-5 Lt. Colonel Ziaur Rahman confirmed this at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon. “A special team of Rab conducted a drive and arrested four of the gang from different areas of the district on Wednesday midnight. The members in the gang will be held soon and all the stolen goods will be recovered,” he said firmly. The arrestees have been identified as Anwar Hossain, 30, Abdur Jabbar, Mokhlesur Rahman, 48 and Laltu Mia. A group of armed men stopped three Dhaka-bound night buses in the district on Monday night and robbed passengers of cash, jewellery and other valuables, police said. The alleged crime took place near Shonajaal point on Bholahat-Shibganj Road around 8.30pm. The robbers also thrashed 10 people for initially refusing to hand over their belongings. According to police and the victims, the robbers had blocked the road and started hitting the buses with sticks. As the drivers panicked, the armed men boarded the buses and robbed the passengers. Officer-in charge of Bholahat Police Station Mahbubur Rahman said, "The three night coaches travelling to Dhaka were stopped and the passengers were robbed. Ten injured passengers have been given first aid at a medical facility." Locals told UNB that the gang has been active in the area for some time now and have looted motorists many times.

A pedestrian went missing on Wednesday after he fell into an overflowing drain as heavy rains drenched the port city sending many areas under water and causing huge public sufferings. The missing man was identified as Md Salmat (36) . The incident happened in Muradpur area of the port city at 11:30 am. A fire service team rushed to the spot, but failed to locate the missing person until in the evening. Biplob Kumar Nath, leader of the city's Agrabad fire station confirmed the incident with UNB. “A five-member diving team of the fire service is working to rescue the missing person. We will keep trying,” he said. Earlier on the day, UNB reported how incessant rains since Tuesday night sent low-lying areas of Chattogram city under water, causing indescribable sufferings to its residents. Waterlogging continues to haunt the residents of the port city as its authorities have so far failed to resolve the protracted problem. People living in Halishahar, Bakolia, Agrabad CDA, Bahaddarhat, Sholoshohor, No 2 Gate, Muradpur, Prabartak and Chawkbazar areas are experiencing the unusual waterlogging following the heavy rainfalls. Some people were seen wading through knee-deep water to reach their destinations in the morning. At some places, the officer-goers had to pay extra fares to reach their workplaces, reports the UNB correspondent after visiting different affected areas. According to the local Met office, the active monsoon triggered the rains and that may continue for another two days. “The rains may continue for two more days. The Met office recorded 28 mm rainfall till 9 am today, and this is happening due to active monsoon,” said Sheikh Farid Ahmed, meteorologist of Patenga Met office. Heavy rains lead to horrific waterlogging in parts of ChattogramIdris Ali, a resident of Sholoshohor area, said: “Just one hour of rain is enough to drown the city, and that’s because of the authorities’ negligence.  I’ve been waiting here for an hour but no vehicle is available to catch.”   Female office-goers are the worst sufferers as they have to wade through knee-deep water to go to their workplaces. At some places, CNG-run auto-rickshaws went out of order as rainwater entered their hosepipes, forcing the drivers to manually push them ahead. Nasima Akhter, a garment worker, said: “I’ve got stuck here in No-2 Gate area as all the roads have gone under water. More worrying is that the rickshaw-pullers were demanding excess fares taking advantage of the situation.”

Incessant rains since Tuesday night sent low-lying areas of Chattogram city under water, causing indescribable sufferings to its residents. Waterlogging continues to haunt the residents of the port city as its authorities have so far failed to resolve the protracted problem. People living in Halishahar, Bakolia, Agrabad CDA, Bahaddarhat, Sholoshohor, No 2 Gate, Muradpur, Prabartak and Chawkbazar areas are experiencing the unusual waterlogging following the heavy rainfalls. Read: Faulty designs in Chattagram waterlogging projects will be rectified Some people were seen wading through knee-deep water to reach their destinations in the morning. At some places, the officer-goers had to pay extra fares to reach their workplaces, reports the UNB correspondent after visiting different affected areas. According to the local Met office, the active monsoon triggered the rains and that may continue for another two days. “The rains may continue for two more days. The Met office recorded 28 mm rainfall till 9 am today, and this is happening due to active monsoon,” said Sheikh Farid Ahmed, meteorologist of Patenga Met office.