Cold snap sweeping the north
The northern part of the country is witnessing a sharp fall in temperature as a cold wind from the Himalayan region is sweeping through the region.
The met office said this season's first cold wave is affecting three northern districts -- Nilphamari, Panchagarh and Kurigram -- currently and causing immense sufferings to people.
It would continue and spread to other parts of the country, Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) said in its forecast.
Met office recorded the lowest temperate at 9 degrees Celsius in Tentulia yesterday.
It also said the temperature may fall by 1-2 degrees Celsious at night but the temperature during daytime may remain nearly unchanged over the country.
The Met office also said that moderate to thick fog may occur if weather remain dry over the country.
With mercury coming down, elderly people and children are being affected by cold related diseases.
Our Thakurgaon correspondent reports, a bone-chilling cold wave, accompanied by mild wind, disrupted normal life in different areas of Panchagarh and Thakurgaon in the last four days.
The adverse weather hit many, especially the low-income group people like farm workers, day labourers and rickshaw-pullers, who manage their livelihood hand to mouth.
It is also forcing people to stay indoors, affecting businesses and other day to day activities.
On the other hand, the number of patients, especially elderly people and children affected with different cold related diseases, has been increasing at different hospitals and clinics.
About 130 children, affected with different cold related diseases, are currently admitted to Thakurgaon Sadar Hospital while another 240 adult patients are admitted to other wards of the hospital, sources at the hospital said.
Besides, over 250 more patients were treated at the hospital outdoors in the last one week.
Civil Surgeon of Thakurgaon Mahfuzar Rahman Sarkar told the Daily Star that the children and the elderly people are vulnerable especially for respiratory tract affected ones during winter.
This year they are advised to take extra precautions as we are going through the risks of Covid-19 infection too.
During a visit to different areas, the low-income group people were seen to warm themselves by lighting fire with straws or other wastes.
Farm workers, day labourers and rickshaw pullers were struggling hard to continue their jobs.
Farm worker Nirmal Barman, 55, of Yakubpur village in Thakurgaon Sadar upazila, said due to the bone-chilling wind that started swiping over the area for the last several days is making it much harder for them to continue their work in the cropland.
The people of Panchagarh and Nilphamari were experiencing the same.
Thakurgaon Deputy Commissioner KM Kamruzzaman Selim said the district administration has already distributed 10,800 blankets and Tk. 6-lakh has already been allocated in each five upazilas for distributing blankets and quilts among the cold-hit people.
"We are also requesting the solvent people from the society to help the poor and distressed," the DC said.
In Panchagarh, 21,200 blankets have been distributed among the distressed people, the district's DC Sabina Yasmin said.
Thakurgaon Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) Deputy Director Aftab Hossain said although it is hard for farmers to work in the crop fields in such chilling weather, the situation is not alarming for the Robi crops yet.
In Nilphamari, there are 12 beds in children ward where 14 children are admitted mostly with cold diarrhoea, reports our correspondent.
In Kurigram, doctors said an increasing number of people are going to the district hospitals' outdoors with cold related problem.
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