Low-Income People: Rain adds to their plight in biting cold

The severity of cold intensified yesterday as some rainfall occurred in many parts of the country, including in the capital.

Meteorologist Hasibur Rahman of Bangladesh Meteorological Department said, "The situation may continue till Thursday and the temperature may rise on Friday.

"Light rain is likely to occur at one or two places over Mymensingh, Sylhet, Dhaka, Khulna, Barishal and Chattogram divisions and weather may remain mainly dry with partly cloudy sky elsewhere over the country," said a 24-hour BMD weather bulletin released yesterday morning.

"Moderate to thick fog may occur over the country during midnight till morning and it may continue at places over the country till noon."

Night temperature may rise slightly and day temperature may fall slightly over the country, the bulletin added.

Yesterday's lowest temperature was recorded as 11.3 degree Celsius in Sitakunda, Sylhet.

In Dhaka, cold and gloomy weather prevailed as no sunlight was seen all day yesterday. The situation worsened at noon when city dwellers witnessed some rain.

Officegoers were seen wrapping up warmly in heavy winter clothes yesterday morning.

"I think today is the coldest day in the capital this season," said Javed Hossain, a private jobholder, who was traveling on a rickshaw around 9:00am in the capital's Bangla Motor area yesterday.

Rickshaw-pullers and day labourers suffered most in yesterday's biting cold.

"The cold is so severe that our hands and legs seem to be freezing. But we cannot sit idle. We have to pull rickshaws to earn our livelihoods," said Anwar Hossain, a rickshaw puller in the capital's Bailey Road area.

Meanwhile, northern border districts Kurigram and Lalmonirhat witnessed a sharp fall in temperature due to a cold wind from the Himalayan region sweeping over the region.

"Slight rain has occurred in this morning.  It has intensified severity of the cold," said Taher Ali, 50, a farmer at Kulaghat village in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila.

Jaldhar Chandra Das, 55, a fisherman from the Brahmaputra River basin Jorgachh area in Kurigram's Chilmari upazila, said, "I went out of the home to net fish in the river this [yesterday] morning. But I had to return home quickly without any delay because it is not possible for me to stay on the river amid such biting cold."

[Our correspondent from Lalmonirhat contributed to this report]