Others
Nor’wester damages hundreds of houses in Faridpur
Around hundreds of houses were damaged while a number of trees were uprooted during a nor’wester in Faridpur district early Thursday (March 28, 2024).
Twenty villages under Pachuria and Bana unions in Alfadanga upazila of the district were battered by the storm.
Residents of the 20 villages – Sirgram, Garania, Pakuria, Taboni, Tonapara, Sialdi Charpara, Joydebpur, Aushir haat, Kutharakandi, Majpara, Arpara in Bana union; Jugibarat, Bhatpara, Chandra, Pachuria, Deuli, Charnarandia, Dhuljuri and Charbhatpara in Pachuria union – remained in darkness as many electric wires were also snapped during the storm.
A vast track of cropslands were also damaged while trees were uprooted, halting road communications in different parts of the upazila.
Read more: Rains likely in parts of Dhaka, 7 other divisions
AKM Zahidul Hasan Zahid, chairman of Alfadanga upazila, said the storm started sweeping through the upazila around 1 am.
Many people have taken shelter under the open sky as their thatched houses were blown away during the storm.
Additional General Manager of Alfadanga Sub-zonal officer of Palli Bidyut Samity, said some electric poles were uprooted while some wires got snapped, disrupting power connection.
Work is going on to resume power supply, he said.
Quamrul Ahsan Talukdar, deputy commissioner of Faridpur, said directives have been given to provide all-out support to those affected in the storm.
Read more: Women's perspectives are vital in climate action: Environment Minister
Body of youth killed in 'BSF firing' returned in Lalmonirhat
Members of India's Border Security Force (BSF) handed over the body of a youth, who was reportedly killed in BSF firing along the Durgapur border in Hatibandha upazila of Lalmonirhat district on Tuesday, to the Bangladesh authorities on Wednesday night.
Liton Mia (19), of Hatibandha upazila, received bullet injuries as BSF personnel from Rarthar BoP camp opened fire on Tuesday when he along with others went to the border area.
Liton succumbed to his injuries under the custody of BSF, said Commanding Officer of Lalmonirhat-15 BGB, Lt Col Mofazzal Hossain Akanda.
Around 10:30 pm last night, the BSF members handed over the body of Liton through a flag meeting at Jawrani border.
Woman’s body recovered from under-construction house in Rajshahi
Police recovered the body of a woman from an under-construction house in Gogram area of Godagari upazila in Rajshahi yesterday.
On information from the locals, police recovered the body and sent it to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy. Police arrested two people in this connection.
The name of the deceased is Sandhya Rani (20), daughter of Harilal Das of Sundarganj upazila of Gaibandha.
The arrested are Phulbabu Ravi Das (25), step brother of the deceased, and Adil Ahmed Palak (19), son of Awal Hossain of Lalpukur village of Godagari upazila. Phulbabu's wife Manti Das (22) is absconding. Phulbabu, his wife and Sandhya Rani worked as laborers.
Abdul Matin, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Godagari Police Station, said that Sandhya Rani had an argument with her step brother and his wife. The arrested persons confessed that Sandhya Rani was stabbed after giving her sleeping pills.
Dhaka’s air 3rd most polluted in the world today
Dhaka ranked third on the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality on Thursday morning.
Its air quality continued to be in the 'unhealthy' zone with an air quality index (AQI) score of 169 at 8:55 am.
An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy', particularly for sensitive groups.
India’s Delhi and Thailand’s Chiang Mai occupied the first two spots on the list, with AQI scores of 179 and 170, respectively.
Dhaka’s air quality still ‘unhealthy’, 3rd worst in the world today
An AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be 'poor', while a reading of 301 to 400 is considered 'hazardous', posing serious health risks to residents.
In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants -- Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.
Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.
Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide. Breathing polluted air has long been recognised as increasing a person’s chances of developing a heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, lung infections and cancer, according to several studies.
Worst air quality in the world today: South Asian cities make up top 4
As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.
5 hurt in BCL infighting at Chittagong Government College
At least five students were injured in a clash between two factions of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) of Chittagong Government College (CCC) unit.
The injured were identified as Wahidul Rahman Sujon, 24, Moinul Islam, 20, Touhidul Karim Emon, 21, Md Zahid, 20, and Amin Faisal Bidyut, 21.
Campus sources said two groups of the BCL locked into the clash over establishing supremacy on the campus.
On information, police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control, said Chawkbazar Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md. Wali Uddin Akbar.
The injured were admitted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital, he added.
1 dead, 2 injured while making hand bombs in Madaripur
A man died and two other sustained injuries while making hand bombs in Kalkini upazila of Madaripur on Wednesday.
The deceased, Modasser Shikder, 50, was a resident of Barishal’s Muladi upazila.
The incident happened at Natun Chardaula Khan village of the upazila this afternoon.
The injured, Harun Dhali and Dadon Dhali, were admitted to a hospital in Barishal.
According to locals and police sources, three to four people, including Modasser, were making hand bombs at the house of a man named Yunus Sardar in the morning.
One of the bombs exploded at noon and three people were seriously injured. Later, Modasser died on the way to hospital.
5 JMB men jailed for bomb attack on police in Bagerhat
“Nothing can be said about the matter yet,” said Madaripur Additional Superintendent of Police Mohammad Kamrul Hasan.
2 cops among 3 hurt in crude bomb blast in Barishal
Police visited the spot after the incident.
Four crude bombs recovered from under Benapole’s culvert
Jatri Kalyan Samitiy demands extension of Eid holidays by 2 days
Passenger welfare platform 'Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samitiy' (BJKS) on Wednesday demanded extension of the Eid holidays by two days to reduce the suffering of passengers on the roads and prevent road accidents during the upcoming Eid.
In a press conference organised at Dhaka Reporters Unity Secretary General of the BJKS Md. Mozammel Haque Chowdhury made the demand to make the Eid trip safe and hassle-free.
According to the observation of the platform, 16 million people, including one crore people from Dhaka, 40 lakh from Gazipur district, 12 lakh from Narayanganj district, and other surrounding districts will travel to different districts of the country during this Eid.
In the four days before Eid, 3 million passengers can travel by bus-minibus, 0.4 million by train, 3.5 million by private car, jeep and microbus, 1.2 million by motorcycle, 6.0 million by launch, and about 1 million by air.
Due to the inadequate public transport and the anarchy of overcharging, 1.8 lakh passengers may travel on the roofs of buses, trains and open trucks and freight transport, said the leaders of BJKS.
Also, about 4 to 5 crore passengers will travel inter-district. For this, from April 5 to April 14, there may be an additional 60 million trip passengers in different types of transport in the country due to various reasons including travel to Eid Bazar, village home.
For this reason, it is feared that if proper use of public transport is not ensured, there may be hellish situation in this year's Eid journey.
They said on April 9 and 10, 60 to 70 lakh people will leave the capital every day but public transport has the capacity to carry 22 to 25 lakh people.
In such a situation, if the holiday is not extended before Eid, the traffic situation on all the roads of the country may get worse. Therefore, if the Eid holidays are extended by 2 days on 8 and 9 April, everyone will get a chance to go home in phases from 05 April.
In the written statement, Mozammel said that there might be traffic jams in 714 spots in the country this Eid. Out of which 140 spots need close monitoring, he said.
Police and various intelligence agencies have alerted the government about 218 high-risk accident spots on 10 national and regional highways.
Dr Yunus got no UNESCO Award: Mohibul
Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury on Wednesday said the UNESCO did not confer “The Tree of Peace” award to Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus.
Mohibul, who is also the Chairman of the Bangladesh UNESCO Commission, made the statement to reporters at the Bangladesh Secretariat.
He said "Dr Yunus was conferred the 'Tree of Peace' award by an Israeli sculptor, upon invitation from the Ganjavi Foundation in Azerbaijan."
The minister said that Dr Yunus’ claim that he received the award from UNESCO is untrue.
"The information propagated by the Yunus Centre regarding the UNESCO award is inaccurate and misleading," said the minister. "It is imperative that we set the record straight and ensure that such misinformation does not tarnish the reputation of our country. An explanation will be sent to the UNESCO headquarters regarding this matter as it is humiliating for Bangladesh."
The minister also warned of legal repercussions if the Yunus Centre persisted in spreading false claims about the UNESCO award. He emphasised the need for immediate cessation of such misleading information to prevent further damage to the reputation of both Dr Yunus and Bangladesh on the international stage.
However, comments from the Yunus Centre were not immediately available.
Madrasa student drowns in Meghna River
Police recovered the body of a madrasa student, who went missing on Tuesday while taking a bath in the Meghna river in Sarail upazila of Brahmanbaria on Wednesday morning.
The deceased was identified as Shawkat Hossain,11, son of Akhter Hossain of Purasunda village in Shayestaganj upazila of Habiganj district.
Wife, 3 others get death penalty for killing man in Cumilla
According to locals, Shawkat, a student of Deobari Gausia Sunnotia Madrasha, and some of his friends went to take a bath in the Meghna River on Tuesday.
At one point, Shawkat drowned in the river.
Later, his friends informed a teacher of the madrasa. Later divers recovered the body from the river on Wednesday morning.
Khulna’s rail link with Dhaka restored 7 hours after collision
Sarail police station Officer-in-Charge Emranul Islam confirmed the matter.
Workers of all sectors will get salary, bonus before Eid: State Minister
Workers of all sectors including readymade garments will get their salary and festival bonus before starting the government holidays for Eid-ul-Fitr, State Minister for Labour and Employment Nazrul Islam Chowdhury said on Wednesday.
He made the announcement while talking to reporters during the 77th meeting of the Tripartite Consultative Council (TCC) of the Ministry of Labour and Employment at the Secretariat.
The state minister further said that based on discussion and agreement between the employers and workers, the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr holidays will be coordinated with public holidays so that holidaymakers can reach their destinations conveniently.
Besides, no workers can be laid off before Eid, he added.
Among others, Secretary of Ministry of Labor and Employment Md Mahbub Hossain, Director General of Labor Directorate Md Tariqul Alam, President of Bangladesh Employers Federation Ardashir Kabir, President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association Faruque Hasan, Acting General Secretary of Bangladesh Mukta Sramik Federation Md Shahidullah Badal, Bangladesh Trade Union Center General Secretary Dr Wazedul Islam Khan were also present.