C T Online Desk: A mild cold wave swept parts of Rangpur division as 54 people died due to cold-related diseases in seven of the eight districts under the division in 24 hours between Friday and Saturday, authorities said.
Life was affected throughout Bangladesh by chilly winds and prolonged dense fog, which led to lengthy jams on highways, the suspension of river crossing services for up to 11 hours, and delayed and diverted flights at airports.
Tetulia logged the country’s lowest minimum temperature of 8.7 C for the second consecutive day on Saturday, with the Met Office warning that the cold weather would persist.
‘The temperature may slightly increase on Sunday, and the skies are likely to remain mostly cloudy,’ meteorologist Toriful Newaz Kabir told New Age.
New Age correspondent in Lalmonirhat, citing Habibur Rahman, deputy director, Rangpur divisional health office, reported that pneumonia claimed 29 lives while diarrhoea killed 25 people.
The deceased were from Rangpur, Lalmonirhat, Thakurgaon, Kurigram, Gaibandha, Nilphamari, and Panchagarh.
A mild cold wave was sweeping over Nilphamari, Panchagarh, and Srimangal.
The Rangpur divisional health office also confirmed the hospitalisation of 427 people with cold diseases at government hospitals in its latest 24 hours report ending on Saturday morning.
Nirmolendu Roy, the civil surgeon, Lalmonirhat, said that the number of patients was surging.
Panchagarh deputy commissioner Jahurul Islam urged affluent people to stand by the cold-hit people of the north, saying that cold weather had already killed 86 people in his district since mid-November.
Rangpur divisional commissioner Sabirul Islam said that he requested the authorities to provide one million quilts to help people survive the winter, which lowered the temperature to close to 10C in mid-November.
In the division, 4.26 lakh quilts have been allocated, and, of them, 3.12 lakh have been distributed.
New Age correspondent in Manikganj reported that heavy fog suspended ferry services over the major river crossings of the Paturia- Daulatdia and Aricha-Kajirhat connecting highways for about 11 hours.
Visibility over the Padma River dropped dangerously after 11:30pm prompting six ferries to anchor mid-river until 10:40am, confirmed Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation’s deputy general manager
Shah Mohammad Khaled Newaz.
The movement of engine-driven boats also remained suspended during this time, leading to long tailbacks of vehicles on both sides of the river.
Hundreds of vehicles were still stranded at the river crossings until Saturday evening, with a warning that ferry services might again be suspended due to reduced visibility.
The Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport authorities said that five national and international flights had been delayed in the morning.
Cold weather is dangerous for children and the elderly, particularly in impoverished northern and northwestern Bangladesh, where dozens of deaths were caused by cold-related illnesses.
The char dwellers, floating on rivers, were surrounded all day by a dense fog and swept by a non-stop wind.
Cold diarrhoea becomes more prevalent in children during winter when rotavirus gets into widespread circulation.
Daily wage earners and farmers suffer a lot, particularly in remote areas, for they must go out in one way or another to earn their livelihoods.
Health experts urged the government to provide free rotavirus and flu vaccinations for children and the elderly.
They also recommended that children and the elderly wear warm clothing at all times and consult a doctor if they have lingering cold-related health problems.
