Man killed, hundreds of houses damaged

One of the tin–roofed houses damaged by nor'wester at Gumerchar village under Bakshiganj upazila of Jamalpur district. The storm ravaged over 400 dwelling houses in three upazilas of the district on Wednesday night. Photo: Star

Nor'wester lashed Jamalpur, Sherpur, Rangpur and Moulvibazar districts on Wednesday night, leaving a man dead and damaging over 1300 houses.
Our Jamalpur correspondent reported that a man was killed and at least 400 dwelling houses were damaged as violent storm swept through eight unions of Sadar, Bakshiganj and Dewanganj upazilas at around 7:30 pm.
The deceased was identified as Shahjahan Mia, 36, son of Chhadu Mondol of Gumerchar village under Nilokkhia union of Bakshiganj upazila. Shahjahan died in house collapse Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Debashish Nag said.
The seven others affected unions are Merurchar, Sadhurpara and Kamalpur under Bakshiganj upazila; Lakkhirchar under Sadar upazila; and Bahadurabad, Parramrampur and Charamkhawa under Dewanganj upazila.
The storm accompanied by hail and rain damaged Irri-boro paddy, uprooted a good number of trees and electric poles in the storm-hit areas.
Palli Bidyut Samity reinstalled the electric polis and restored power supply in Sadar and Dewanganj upazilas at noon yesterday. Employees of the samity are working to restore power supply in the affected areas of Bakshiganj upazila, said General Manager Reza Ullah Khan of Palli Bidyut Samity.
In Rangpur, Nor'wester damaged over 500 thatched and tin-roofed houses in Pirgachha upazila. The storm-hit villages are Char Shibdeb, Char Purba Haguria Hashim, Jadu Laskar, Annadanagar, Petvata, Sath Dargah, Kaliganj and Damur Chakla villages, reports our correspondent.
Besides, the storm uprooted tress and damaged Irri-boro paddy and other crops at the villages. Contacted, Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) AKM Sarwar Jahan they have already sent a list of the affected families to the district administration.
In Moulvibazar, Over 200 thatched and tin-roofed houses were damaged by a violent storm in Kamolganj and sadar upazilas on Wednesday night, according to our correspondent.
Rail services on Sylhet- Dhaka and Sylhet-Chittagong routes remained suspended for six and an half hours as trees uprooted by storm fell on railway tracks in Lawachhara area.
Banugachc Railway Station Master Afzal Hossain said trees fell on rail tracks at different points, disrupted train on the routes for over six hours from midnight on Wednesday.
Train service on the routes resumed at around 6:30am, he added.
Our Sherpur correspondent adds: Storm lashed 15 villages of Sadar and Sribardi upazilas of the district at around 8:00pm on Wednesday, damaging over 300 dwelling houses and injuring at least 15 people.
The injured were admitted to Jamalpur General Hospital and upazila health complexes. The storm, which lasted for an hour, also damaged Irri-boro paddy and other crops at the affected villages. It uprooted trees and electric poles, disrupting power supply to the upazilas for eight hours from 8:00pm.