Fog disrupts ferry services

Ferry services on Paturia-Daulatdia and Mawa-Kawrakandi routes came to a halt for almost nine hours since early yesterday due to thick fog on the river Padma.
A mild to moderate cold wave coupled with thick fog was sweeping through a large number of districts since December 24, paralysing normal life of people.
According to the Dhaka Met office, the freezing weather in Dhaka, Khulna, Barisal and Rangpur divisions may continue for the next two days.
Yesterday, the lowest temperature was recorded at 7.8 degrees Celsius in Jessore while the mercury hit as low as 10.7 degrees Celsius in the capital.
The authorities suspended ferry services on Paturia-Daulatdia route at 12:01 midnight due to a thick blanket of fog, said Ashraf Ullah Khan, manager (commerce) of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC).
Huge traffic congestion in ferry and launch terminals of the routes kept thousands of people stranded until service could be resumed at 9:00 am.
Masters of Ro-Ro ferries Keramat Ali and Bir Shreshtha Motiur Rahman were forced to anchor in the mid-river for hours after being unable to see through the thick fog, reports our Manikganj correspondent.
Our Madaripur correspondent reports, masters of four ferries plying the Maowa- Kawrakandi route were forced to cast anchor in the mid-river to wait for hours since 12:00 midnight.
Around 300 vehicles remained stranded on both ends of the waterway due to the suspension of ferry service till yesterday morning.
Biting cold and cold related diseases were taking a heavy toll on the homeless people of the Aila-affected areas in the coastal districts, reports our Satkhira correspondent.
General hospitals and private clinics in Lalmonirhat district were seen overcrowded due to the influx of patients suffering from cold related diseases.
Farmers and day labourers were the worst sufferers as they could not go out for work due to the cold snap sweeping across the district, reports our Lalmonirhat correspondent.
Our Barisal correspondent reports, the cold wave increased the sufferings of homeless and lower income group people in the district.
The NGO Foundation and its member organisations including ASA and Brac have started distributing warm clothes among the ultra-poor of the country's northern districts.