6 die, communications disrupted
Chilly wind and dense fog battering the country for the last two days have claimed six lives, disrupted communications and caused public sufferings.
The weather office said the cold wave may ease tomorrow.
At least three people died due to exposure to the biting cold yesterday, raising the cold wave death toll to six in the last two days, according to reports sent in by The Daily Star correspondents.
The latest deaths were reported in Tangail and Kishoreganj. Scores of people, especially children and the old, have fallen sick from cold-related diseases like bronchial asthma, pneumonia, cough and rota viral diarrhoea.
Turnout rate in the polls to municipalities was low due to the cold snap in Rajshahi and Rangpur in the morning yesterday.
One domestic flight was cancelled and many were delayed yesterday for lack of visibility at the fog-covered Shahjalal International Airport, airport information centre said. But there was no disruption reported in international flights.
Ferry services between Mawa and Kewrakandi, and Paturia and Daulatdia routes were also disrupted with some ferries stranded mid-river for hours with hundreds of passengers and vehicles.
The temperature yesterday plunged below 5 degrees Celsius in many places including Jessore and Iswardi, said an official of Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD).
The lowest temperature was recorded at 4.5 degrees Celsius in Jessore, the lowest in the last three years in the country. The highest temperature, 23.4 degrees Celsius, was recorded at Cox’s Bazar.
In capital Dhaka, the lowest was 8.5, said the official, adding, “The cold wave will continue tomorrow [today] and is likely to ease on Friday.”
He attributed the current spell of cold to rising jet stream in the upper atmosphere, shortage of sunlight and heavy fog.
Those, who could afford, restored to warm clothes to ward off the bone-chilling cold while the poor and homeless were mostly exposed to the chills.
“I have only one warm clothe which is already tattered. But it is impossible to sleep at night, as I have no blanket or Khantha. I have to stay up whole night and find out warm places,” said Kamal, a teenage street boy at Karwan Bazar.
According to the BMD weather forecast, a severe cold wave swept over the country’s northern region including Jessore, Kushtia, Rajshahi, Pabna, Rangpur, Tangail and Dinajpur, while its effect became mild and moderate at Khulna, Barisal, Patuakhali, Khepupara, Bogra, Dhaka, Mymensingh, Faridpur, Madaripur, Sitakunda, Chandpur, Feni and Srimangal.
Our Tangail correspondent reports: Two senior citizens died in the bitter cold in the district yesterday. The victims were identified as Nilmoni Sheel, 70, of Aloa in Tangail and Rokeya Begum, 60, of Basail in Basail upazila.
Deputy Commissioner of Tangail M Bazlul Karim Chowdhury said they have only 3,500 blankets from the disaster management ministry to fight the situation.
Our Kishoreganj correspondent reports: An unidentified man aged around 70 died in the severe cold at Batrish area of the town.
Mir Musharraf Hossain, officer-in-charge of Kishoreganj Police Station, quoting locals said the body was found near a cinema around 11:00am.
Our Dinajpur correspondent reports: At least 75 children with cold-related diseases were admitted to the children ward of Dinajpur Medical College Hospital in the last 48 hours.
The polls to municipalities hindered distribution of warm clothes among the destitute in the district as well.
Our Manikganj correspondent reports: Ferry and launch services on Paturia-Daulatdia route remained suspended for seven and a half hours from 2:00am early yesterday due to dense fog. This created almost 4km-long tailbacks on both sides of the river.
Our Munshiganj correspondent reports: Ferry service between Mawa and Kewrakandi remained suspended for around 10 hours from midnight due to heavy fog.
Over 300 goods-laden trucks and passenger vehicles remained stranded on both sides of the river.
Our Barisal correspondent reports: Heavy fog disrupted road and waterway communication in the southern region for six to nine hours and the severe cold spell that started two days ago continued.
Our Khulna correspondent reports: The cold wave claimed three lives at Dakop and Batiaghata upazilas of the district Tuesday.
