Sun comes out finally

The much-hankered-after sun shone yesterday in many parts of the country after around two weeks of severe cold spell with thick fog that claimed lives of many children and elderly persons.
Meanwhile, fogs disrupted ferry services in the night on Mawa-Kaorakandi and Paturia-Daulatdia river routes triggering the people's miseries.
Our district correspondents report that comparatively warm weather was felt in most areas of the northern and western regions of the country yesterday, whereas at least eight people died of cold-related ailments in Kurigram, Rangpur and Chuadanga.
An official of the Met Office told BSS that the sky will remain clear during the next few days and the sunny weather will continue across the country.
He said that the country experienced severe cold during the last 10 days as the sun was hardly visible due to thick fog and the cold wave.
The mild cold wave will sweep the northern and southwestern regions of the country within the next few days, the official said adding that despite the cold wave, the intensity of cold in the country will decrease.
Ferry services on Paturia-Daulatdia route remained suspended for over seven hours early yesterday as dense fog blanketed the waterway, our Manikganj correspondent reports.
Bidyut Kumar Saha, manager of Aricha BIWTC office, said the ferries remained stalled from 2:00am due to the thick fog.
Sources said three ferries at Paturia ghat (pier), four at Daulatdia ghat and two in mid-river remained stranded with at least 200 vehicles and more than 1,000 passengers.
Meanwhile, passengers and goods-laden trucks yesterday faced immense sufferings due to the suspension of ferry services at the Mawa-Kaorakandi river routes for around six hours.
BIWTC's Mawa office manager Chandra Shekhar said the services were suspended from 3:30am to 9:30am yesterday.
The disruption began around 9:00pm on Saturday due to a thick fog. Ten ferries were stranded at different points of the route, reports our Munshiganj correspondent.
In Kurigram, at least six people died of cold-related diseases here yesterday. They are two-year-old Moni and Ashok Chandra Roy, 70, of Rajarhat upazila, Akbar Ali, 55, and Fulser Ali, 65, of Sadar upazila, and Fuljan Bewa, 70, and Tofazzal Hossen, 45, of Ulipur upazila.
The victims died in their houses, our Kurigram correspondent reports.
In Rangpur's Pirgachha upazila, two men died of cold-related ailments. They are Abdur Rouf, 80, and Mojahar Ali, 65.
Rangpur Met Office said the sun seemed to be shining after two weeks. The lowest temperature in the district yesterday was recorded at 9.5 degrees Celsius.