United News of Bangladesh

Although Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Expressway(Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga) witnessed long tailback on Friday, traffic movement became normal on the 2nd day of toll collection ( Saturday) after increasing the number of toll booths. In 24 hours till 12 am on Saturday, 15,650 vehicles passed the highway and Tk 24,4640 toll were collected through the toll collecting booths on both ends, said Faruk Hossain, in-charge of toll plaza. Also read: Mawa-Bhanga expressway witnesses huge traffic snarl on first day of toll collection Toll collection from the country’s first expressway  began at 12 am on Friday from Bogail toll plaza in Bhanga upazila of Faridpur.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has claimed to have detained a man and seized over 1kg of crystal methamphetamine and 50,000 Yaba pills in separate drives across Teknaf upazila of Cox’s Bazar. The detainee has been identified as Md Faruk, 30, son of Nur Ahmed of the upazila. Tipped off, a BGB-2 team intercepted a boat coming from Myanmar in the Naf river at 6.30pm on Friday and detained Faruk as he tried to escape, the force said in a release. READ: 51 held in anti-drugs drives across Dhaka While the BGB men seized 30,000 pieces of Yaba tablets worth Tk 90 lakh from his possession, a subsequent drive in the Hinla Abrang area led to the seizure of 1.06 kg of crystal methamphetamine worth Tk 5.90 crore and 20,000 pieces of Yaba tablets. The drive was conducted after Faruk apprised the BGB men of the drugs during questioning, as per the release.

At least 12 shops, mostly fruit and sweetmeat outlets, were gutted in a fire at Bhanga Upazila Sadar Bazar of Faridpur on Saturday morning. Officials said that the fire broke out at a shop at the bazar around 5.30am and it soon engulfed the adjoining shops. Several fire tenders were pressed into service and it took them over four hours to douse the flames. Abu Jafar, station officer of Bhanga Fire Station, said an electrical short-circuit at the first shop might have triggered the fire. READ: Fire guts Jatrabari carton factory The amount of loss caused by the fire could not be ascertained immediately, he said. The local traders, however, claimed that goods and properties worth several crores were damaged in the fire.

The administration of Feni’s Fulgazi upazila has imposed a curfew at Daulatpur village of the upazila on Saturday. The imposition of the curfew came after a clash between Fulgazi chapters of Bangladesh Awami League (AL) and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Friday. According to the order signed by Fulgazi Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Ashrafun Nahar, both the AL and the BNP’s Fulgazi units had called for relief distribution programs at the upazila’s Daulatpur village. A clash ensued when both groups tried to conduct their pre-scheduled programs simultaneously. According to Alal Uddin Alal, Member Secretary of Feni District BNP, prior to Friday’s attack, the AL men launched another attack at their preparatory meeting for the relief program, leaving 30 of their activists injured. Read: Section 144 to be imposed in Feni on Wednesday General Sceretary of Fulgazi Upazila AL Harunur Rashid Majumder claimed that it was the BNP men who had attacked Sadar union Jubo League President Nizam Company and injured five of his men. Md Moin Uddin, Officer In-charge of Fulgazi police station, said that the curfew has been imposed to contain any untoward situation. “Police have ramped up its patrolling in the area. We are being cautious to thwart any unexpected situation,” Moin said.

A college student was killed when a cement-laden truck crushed his motorcycle in front of Muskan Motor Shop in North Kashipur area under Fatullah police station in Narayanganj on Friday at about 1:30pm. The deceased was identified as Asif Iqbal Hridoy, son of late Tofazzal Hossain Pintu of Katakhali area in Munshiganj Sadar upazila. He used to be an honor's third year student at the Zoology department of Government Haraganga College of Munshiganj. Md Sabbir, who was on the motorcycle with Asif, was critically injured. According to the police, Asif's motorcycle first ran into the extended wall of Muskan Motors, and fell on the road. Asif died on the spot when a truck of Shah Cement factory ran over his body from behind. Read: Two killed in Cumilla road crash According to Shohag Chowdhury, a Sub-inspector of Fatullah Model Police Station, the truck has been seized and its driver has been detained. "Asif’s body has been sent to the Narayanganj Sadar Hospital for an autopsy. Besides, legal procedures are also underway,” said Shohag.

More than 37,000 people still remained in shelter centres in flood-hit Sylhet after devastating floods swept through several parts of Bangladesh leaving 95 people dead.According to the Sylhet district administration, there are now 439 shelters in Sylhet district where 37,176 people are still staying in these shelters.Almost 30 lakh people have been rendered homeless and as many as 40,091 houses destroyed in the recent floods in Sylhet, sources said on Thursday. Read: Flood: 3 more deaths pushes up toll to 95All the 13 upazilas of the district, including five municipalities, have been affected.The district administration has distributed relief materials among the flood victims.Sources said Tk 1.92 crore in cash, 1,612 metric tonnes of rice and 19,918 packets of dry food have been distributed among the flood-affected people in the district.According to the Water Development Board, the water level of Surma River has gone down by 10 cm at Kanaighat Point and 4 cm at Sylhet Point at 12pm today. However, the water level of the Kushiyara River is stable. Read: Govt apathy compounds flood victims’ miseries: BNPMeanwhile, it drizzled in Sylhet on Friday as well. However, there is no possibility of water rise in these rivers due to this light rain, said AKM Niloy Pasha, deputy assistant engineer of Sylhet Water Development Board.Besides, rains are likely over this region for three more days, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD).

In Thakurgaon, Barakat is the talk of the town ahead of Eid-ul-Azha. Barakat is no ordinary bull, but a neutered male popular for its meat. The big bull weighs around 28 maund. Read: Samrat: The king bull of Chapainawabganj Its owner farmer Zillur Rahman  said that he reared the bull in his dairy in Dhumunia Shahpara village of Pirganj upazila of Thakurgaon along with twenty more cattles. "I spend around Tk 600 a day to feed this huge bull," he told UNB. Zillur  set up a small cattle farm in his homestead in 2011. “For more than four years, I have been rearing Barakat. The bull eats different types of foods including wheat bran, rice bran, maze, dried hay and raw grass," he said. "If any buyer from outside Rangpur division buys the bull, I will deliver it at my own cost, '' added Zillur. Read: Kalo Manik: The big bull that's ready to charge this Eid! Besides, the bull gets showers several times a day. Everyday locals throng Zillur’s dairy to catch a glimpse of the big bull. According to sources at the Thakurgan Livestock and Fisheries Department, enough sacrificial animals are available in the upazila this year. 

Hundreds of passengers, including children and women, were caught in a long queue of vehicles on the Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga expressway on the first day of toll collection due to shortage of toll booths. The authority started collecting tolls from vehicles on the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman since Friday (1 July) midnight. Read: South Korean firm to collect toll from Dhaka-Mawa Expressway for 5 years During the morning hours many vehicles were seen passing very slowly through the Bogail toll plaza. Only four booths opened to collect tolls at the Bogail toll plaza instead of ten booths, said Faruk Hossain, who is in-charge of toll plaza. As a result, vehicles are taking more time to cross the toll plaza, causing traffic jam, he added.

After a rise over the last two days, the water level of the Surma and Kushiyara rivers started falling again in Sylhet and Sunamganj on Friday. According to the Water Development Board, the water level of Surma River has gone down by 10 cm at Kanaighat Point and 4 cm at Sylhet Point at 12pm today. However, the water level of the Kushiyara River is stable. Meanwhile, it drizzled in Sylhet on Friday as well. However, there is no possibility of water rise in these rivers due to this light rain, said AKM Niloy Pasha, deputy assistant engineer of Sylhet Water Development Board. Read: Major rivers swell again in northeastern region Besides, rains are likely over this region for three more days, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD). Asif Ahmed, executive engineer of the Sylhet Water Development Board, said that there was no possibility of fresh flood due to this rain as the Flood Forecasting & Warning Centre reported. In Sunamganj, the water level of Surma River has receded by 13 cm at Sadar municipality on Friday morning. This district recorded 21 mm of rain in the last 24 hours. Road communication in four upazilas is still cut off as the floodwaters have not receded completely. In Sunamganj municipal town, Kazir Point, Bilpara, Nabinagar, West Natunpara areas, floodwaters fell slightly. Read:Over 30 lakh homeless, 40,000 houses destroyed in flood-hit Sylhet Meanwhile, the Flood Forecasting & Warning Centre of the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) said all major rivers in the north-eastern region of the country are in a falling trend, which may continue falling in the next 24 hours. However, the Brahmaputra River is in a steady-state, while the Jamuna River and Padma River are on the rising trend. These rivers may rise in the next 24-48 hours. The flood situation in Kurigram, Sylhet, Sunamganj, Netrokona, Kishoreganj and Brahmanbaria districts may improve in the next 24 hours, it added in their latest report.

Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) has detained a woman and seized 490 Yaba pills from her possession in Khidirpur village of Chattogram on June 29, the elite force said on Friday. The detainee, Taslima Akter, 25, wife of Ariful Islam, bought the seized Yaba pills to frame her husband so as to take revenge over a property matter, and informed Rab, according to a release. Rab personnel conducted a drive in her house and detained Taslima, and seized the Yaba pills. During preliminary questioning, Taslima revealed that she married Ariful for money and property.   But her husband was depriving her of the properties. Being angered by this, Taslima decided to take revenge on her husband, the elite force said. The detainee was handed over to the Boalkhali police for legal action, as per the release.