Cold spell paralyses life in northern districts
Drizzle adds to sufferings of people
Clad in warm clothes and holding umbrella, people walk along the road near Thakurgaon Government Boys' High School yesterday as drizzle adds to the biting cold in the northern region. Photo: STAR
The first cold spell of this season has began adding to the misery of the poor and disadvantaged people in the northern districts. The bone-chilling cold wave coupled with drizzling from Thursday in the last 3/4 days disrupted normal life in Thakurgaon and Panchagarh districts. As people are forced to stay indoors, business and official activities are hampered while students' attendance in schools and colleges became thin. Low income group people, especially who earn on daily basis, are unable to manage work due to the bad weather. The minimum temperature recorded in Thakurgaon was 12 degrees Celsius while it was eight degrees in Panchagarh district yesterday, local Met office sources said. The sun remained invisible during the last three days. Fog and drizzling amid sweeping cold winds from the western and northwestern directions have added to the sufferings of the common people. Although different government and non-government organisations have started distribution of warm clothes, it is too inadequate for the poor in the two districts. We wrote to the higher authorities for 30 thousand blankets and other warm clothes for distribution among the distressed. We have also requested the solvent people to help the poor. In the meantime, we received 25,000 blankets and the district administration has already distributed them in five upazilas," Thakurgaon deputy commissioner Muhammad Shahiduzzaman told this correspondent. Agricultural activities are also being hampered as farmers cannot work in crop fields due to the chilling cold, said Khairul Alam, deputy director of Thakurgaon Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE). On the other hand potato farmers are worried due to sever cold as it may cause fungal and pest attack on potato plants, DAE sources said, adding it is also harmful for seed beds of IRRI-Boro paddy. Increasing number of patients, especially children and elderly people, are crowding hospitals with cold-related diseases, said Dr Khairul Kabir, senior consultant of Thakurgaon Sadar Hospital. Several people have died of cold-related diseases during the last few days in Thakurgaon district, family and hospital sources said.
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