Country reels from cold, fog
With the people suffering the sting of a mild cold wave for last one week, Met office predicts another bout of severe cold wave would sweep the country in the second half of January.
The poor in the cold-struck areas are in dire need of warm clothes, while many are also suffering from different cold related diseases, according to reports dispatched by our correspondents from across the country.
"There will be no respite from the mild cold wave as this may continue for a few more days," said SM Kamrul Hasan, a weatherman at the Met office, yesterday.
The mild cold wave is now sweeping over Rajshahi division and the regions of Jessore, Kushtia, Tangail, Sitakunda and Srimangal, he said, adding, "There is a possibility of severe cold wave in some parts of the country in the second half of the month."
During the second half of January temperature some regions may go down below 6 degrees Celsius.
Hasan said the temperature people are experiencing is nothing unusual in the month of January, but the shivering cold is the result of fog and northwesterly wind.
According to the Met office, the lowest temperature was recorded in Srimangal at 8 degrees Celsius yesterday, while the people of Dhaka experienced 11.2 degrees Celsius.
Among the areas with low temperature were Tangail with 9.8 degrees Celsius, Jessore 9.4 and Chuadanga with 9.2 degrees Celsius.
The Met office said the lowest temperature of the season was recorded at 6 degrees Celsius in Jessore and Ishwardi on December 26 and 29 respectively.
Thousands of people are suffering due to a lack of warm clothes in Meherpur where the government has distributed only 1,000 blankets against a huge demand, reports a correspondent from Meherpur.
Six people died of cold related diseases in the last one week, while 200 others were admitted to different health complexes and hospitals in nine upazilas, writes our Sirajganj correspondent.
Hundreds of poor people are suffering there due to a lack of warm clothes.
Deputy Commissioner Md Humayun Kabir said he has not got any information of death from cold yet. He however said they have already distributed 5,000 blankets to the poor in the district.
The biting cold claimed two lives in Dinajpur including an octogenarian man -- Md Reaz Uddin of Chopagari village in Ghoraghat upazila. About 400 people have been admitted to hospitals in Panchagarh, Joypurhat and Dinajpur for cold related diseases, says our Dinajpur correspondent.
Railway police of Parbatipur yesterday recovered the body of a woman in her 60s from platform-5. They suspect she died due to severe cold.
The cold wave and dense fog disrupted ferry and launch services on Paturia-Doulatdia, Maowa-Kaorakanda routes and also in Chandpur yesterday.
Three ferries anchored in the middle of the river as the ferry service on Paturia-Daulatdia route remained suspended for two hours yesterday due to dense fog, reports our Manikganj correspondent.
Nearly 100 goods-laden trucks and 200 buses and small vehicles were seen lined up at Paturia and Daulatdia ghats at 8:00am due to fog.
Launches from different districts reached Chandpur port after much delay due to heavy fog in the river, says our Chandpur correspondent.
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