A mild to moderate cold wave is sweeping through nine districts including Dhaka causing disruption in ferry services and intensifying sufferings of the poor.
An official at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport yesterday said only one flight (of Jet Airways) was delayed by around two hours due to fog. Other flights took off or landed on scheduled time, the official added.
Temperature fell in Rajshahi, Pabna, Kushtia, Satkhira, Barisal, Madaripur and Srimangal, while the lowest temperature was recorded as 7.8 degrees Celsius in Chuadanga while it was 12.4 degrees in Dhaka yesterday.
Ferry services on two major routes — Mawa-Kaurakandi and Paturia-Daulatdia — remained suspended for several hours as heavy fog descended on the Padma river.
Services on Mawa-Kaurakandi route remained suspended for around six hours and resumed around 11:00am, reports our Munshiganj correspondent.
One ferry got stuck in the narrow Magurkhanda channel blocking the route. The ferry was later salvaged around 10:30am.
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) AGM Ashiquzzaman said, “Heavy fog descended in the area at around 5:00am. Five ferries were stranded at different points in the river after setting out for Mawa at 8:00am.”
Ferry movement on Paturia-Daulatdia route also remained suspended for one and a half hours yesterday due to dense fog, says our Manikganj correspondent.
Around four hundred loaded trucks and 200 passenger buses were stranded on both sides of the river during the disruption of ferry services.
Manager (Commerce) of Aricha Sector of BIWTC Bidyut Kumer Saha said, “Ferry movement was disrupted from 7:00am and resumed at 8:30am as the fog cleared.”
Disruption in ferry services created huge traffic congestion on both sides of the river causing sufferings to thousands of stranded passengers.
Bazlur Rashid, meteorologist of the Dhaka met office, told The Daily Star three to four heavy cold waves might sweep across the country by the end of January.
Thousands of people, especially children and the elderly, are mainly being affected by cold, said Dr Farida Yesmin, duty medical officer of health control room, Directorate General of Health Services.
The wind blowing from the Himalayas has intensified the cold in the northern region of the country, said Bazlur Rashid of the met office.
The current cold wave is likely to continue two to three more days and cause immense sufferings to the poor and floating people living under the open sky, say weather experts.
Image (above) caption: Two street children sleep in a makeshift enclosure made with sacks of onions, trying to save themselves from last night’s biting cold at Karwan Bazar in the capital. Photo:Shawkat Jamil
