Sylhet
Sylhet important to close Dhaka-London relationship: Javed Patel
British Deputy High Commissioner to Bangladesh Javed Patel visited Sylhet on November 1-2 and discussed the important contribution Sylhet makes to Bangladesh.
The Deputy High Commissioner also thanked them (people from Sylhet) for their support to British Bangladesh communities.
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“I am delighted to be back in Sylhet, which is so important to close UK-Bangladesh relationship,” he said speaking from Sylhet.
The diplomat met Deputy Commissioner Md. Mozibor Rahman and Sylhet Metropolitan Additional Police Commissioner Jubaedur Rahman.
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During his visit, the Deputy High Commissioner visited the Bholaganj border area to see the areas affected by devastating floods earlier this year, and hear about efforts supporting the recovery.
Goods transport owners-workers go on 48-hour strike in Sylhet
A 48-hour strike, enforced by goods transport owners and workers, is underway in Sylhet on Monday, demanding withdrawal of the ban on stone extraction as well as reopening of stone quarries.
The strike, enforced by Sylhet truck, pickup, covered van malik-sramik pikya parishad, started at 6 am.
Read more: Stone extraction: Freight transport strike in Sylhet from Monday
Sabbir Ahmed Foyez, organising secretary of Sylhet truck, pickup, covered van malik-sramik oikya parishad, said, “Our strike is going on peacefully.”
They will go on indefinite strike in the district if their demand is not met, he added.
A meeting of goods transport workers' leaders was held at the Deputy Commissioner's office on Sunday afternoon but no solution came from the meeting.
Although the district administration said that the leaders have assured them of withdrawal of the strike the workers’ leaders said no such decision has been taken.
On Sunday, the goods transport owners decided to go on the strike, demanding withdrawal of a ban on stone extraction and reopening of stone quarries in the district’s Jaflong, Bichanakandi and Bholaganj.
Read more: Sylhet: Transport strike threatened on Monday to press for opening of stone quarries
According to the transport workers and owners, a total of 15 lakh people are directly involved in the stone business in Sylhet.
Transport workers said stones from the quarries had long been transported across the country since the country's independence but a government ban for the last five years has had an adverse impact on the freight transport owners.
Two die as truck hits bike in Sylhet
A 24-year-old youth on a bike and his cousin riding pillion died after being hit by a speeding truck in Jakiganj upazila of Sylhet on Thursday night.
The deceased were identified as Emon Ahmed and Muktar Hossain Laal, 23. Both were the residents of the upazila and were supposed to take the upcoming HSC (Higher Secondary Certificate) exams.
The accident occurred around 11.30pm as the truck hit the motorcycle coming from the opposite direction on Jakiganj-Sylhet Road near the Kolakuta Bangla Bari area, said Md Mosharraf Hossain, officer-in-charge of Jakiganj police station.
The impact of the crash was such that the two died on the spot, the OC said.
“Efforts are on to nab the driver of the killer truck who sped away after the accident,” he added.
Four arrested after kidnapping businessman for ransom in Sylhet
Police arrested four persons for realising Tk 1.85 lakh from an apparel businessman after he was abducted on October 7.
Though police produced the arrestees with a remand prayer before a court on Tuesday, it sent them to jail fixing Wednesday for the hearing in this connection.
Md Kamrul Islam, officer-in-charge of South Surma Police Station, confirmed the matter to UNB.
Police had arrested them from Humayun Rashid Chattar in South Surma upazila by Monday, but only disclosed the matter today.
The arrestees are Md Tamij Ali, 40, son of late Abdus Samad of Chhatak upazila, Topu Ranjan Dev, 35, son of late Romendra Narayan Dev of Kotwali, Md Sajjad Mia, 45, son of late Anrej Mia and Md Nayon Mia, 35, son of late Sheikh Majid Mia of an area under Sylhet airport police station.
Read: 7 get 10 years jail for abduction in Khulna
Police said the apparel businessman had been waiting for a bus to take him to Dhaka in front of the Al Safa Rest House, located within the upazila, around 5am on October 7.
That’s when four persons riding two motorbikes abducted him and took him to a rest house in Zindabazar of the city, asking for Tk 3 lakh as ransom, the police said.
The abductors were able to get Tk 85,000 off him, at the same time targeting his wife and pressuring her into transferring another Tk 1 lakh to them.
After receiving the amount, the kidnappers released him around 2am on October 8.
OC Kamrul said they arrested the abductors on Monday after the victim filed a case in this connection.
Fire at Sylhet colony makes five families homeless
A fire that broke out at a colony in Sylhet city’s Pathantula area on Friday has made five families destitute in the blink of an eye.
According to Shahidul Islam, a unit leader of Sylhet Fire Service and Civil Defense, three firefighting units brought the blaze under control around 8:00pm after an hour’s efforts.
Although no casualties have been reported as of filing this story, the scale of losses is yet to be ascertained.“The fire engulfed Faruk Mia’s Colony adjacent to the south gate of Ragib-Rabeya Medical College Hospital on Friday evening. The blaze quickly spread to the nearby installations, including a residential building for the students of the medical college,” Shahidul said.
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Shahidul added they are suspecting that an electrical short circuit had caused the fire.
“No one was hurt in the accident. However, the entire colony has been reduced to ashes. Besides, the nearby residential hall for the medical students has also been damaged. Moreover, five families who were living in the colony have lost everything in the fire,” added Shahidul.
Travel documentary “Tombs: Tea-Planters' Cemeteries in Sylhet” premiered
Unfolding the stories behind the cemeteries of tea planters in Bangladesh, a travel documentary titled “Tombs: Tea-Planters Cemeteries in Sylhet” was premiered on Monday at Bangladesh Tourism Board Conference Hall, Agargaon in the capital.
Conceptualized and produced by heritage traveller Eliza Binte Elahi and directed by ARM Nasir, the 30-minute documentary premiere, hosted by the Bangladesh Bureau Chief of the Associated Press and United News of Bangladesh-UNB’s Chief of Correspondents Julhas Alam, was joined by Rahnuma Salam Khan, Deputy Director of Bangladesh Tourism Corporation as the chief guest.
The premiere was also joined by several other prominent personalities including former additional secretary and Bangladesh Birds Club President Jalal Ahmed, Joint Secretary at Ministry of Finance Sheikh Momena Moni, Bangladesh Police DIG Ruhul Amin, Deepto TV CEO Fuad Chowdhury, botanist and tea planter Ashraf Ahmed, former additional secretary Akhtaruzzaman Khan Kabir, and travel magazine Bhromongoddya editor Mahmud Hafiz, among others.
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Foreigners and many ethnic groups have settled for long periods of rule in Bangladesh and established trade connections, and needless to say that many of them are buried in the country. Different burial grounds are built in almost all the 64 districts of Bangladesh, and there are also tombs of tea planters in different tea gardens of the entire Sylhet division.
Sylhet Transport owners to go on strike from Tuesday
Sylhet District Road Transport Workers Coordinating Council consisting of 6 registered organizations called an indefinite strike in Sylhet from Tuesday to press for their five-point demand.All modes of public transport, including buses, CNG-run auto-rickshaws and freight trucks will stay off the roads in Sylhet from 6 am onwards, said a media statement, signed by Ali Akbar Rajan, joint general secretary of Sylhet District Bus Minibus Coach Microbus Workers Union."On September 5, "We submitted a memorandum over a five-point demand to the Home Minister and copies of the memorandum have been sent to all concerned sectors of Sylhet administration. As no initiative has been taken to meet those demands, all modes of public transport in Sylhet will be staying off the roads indefinitely from Tuesday as per our previously announced programme.”Their demands are: Sylhet Metropolitan Police (SMP) commissioner and deputy commissioner (traffic) should be removed, illogical fines by traffic police should be stopped. Nazmul Alam Romen, who is gaining influence using the name of Sramik League, must be withdrawn from the representative of Labor Court in Sylhet; stone quarries should be reopened, dilapidated roads should be repaired quickly and the sale of new CNG-run auto-rickshaws must be stopped and the vehicles which have been sold should be given registered. At the same time, the movement of illegal vehicles should be stopped.
Fear of fresh flooding grips Sylhet as rivers swell again
Rivers in the northeastern district of Sylhet swelled following three days of heavy rains in the region and upstream in India, raising fear of another round of flooding this year.
Incessant rains since early Saturday sent many parts Sylhet city to go under knee-deep water. Vast areas of the city have been hit by acute waterlogging. Water has also entered households and shops, causing immense sufferings to people living in low-lying areas.
Locals complained that waterlogging happened due to poor drainage system in the city.
“A downpour for a couple of hours inundates most of the city areas due to incomplete drainage works. Besides, rainwater can’t pass as local influential people have filled up almost all the water bodies,” said Kawsar Mia, a city resident.
According to the Flood Forecasting and Warning Center (FFWC), water level is rising fast in rivers flowing through Sylhet and Sunamganj. A temporary flooding is likely to affect these two districts within this week. However, the losses will be minimal as no crop is currently being cultivated in the division’s Haor areas.
Read: Sylhet flood situation improves as rivers recede
“The current bout of rain will continue till September 6, while another round may drench Sylhet division next week,” said Saeed Ahmad Chowdhury, a senior meteorologist at Sylhet Meteorological Center.
Arifuzzaman Bhuiyan, an executive engineer of FFWC, said that another round of flooding is on the horizon.
“Heavy rain is ongoing upstream. As a result, floodwater will continue inundating the Teesta basin and Sylhet division for most of this week. But the increased level of water won’t last long,” Arif said.
According to forecast by the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), seasonal air will cause rain in Sylhet division for the next few days. Besides, a forecast from Bangladesh Water Development Board (WDB) has said that water level in almost all the rivers of the country will rise due to excessive rain in the upstream.
In June, a record-level flooding inundated almost 80 percent area of Sylhet division. The deluge that ravaged the region from June to August claimed more than 80 lives and forced many to flee their flooded homes and take shelter on highways and buildings in whatever little dry places were left.
Bangladesh’s ace swimmer Boissya sets eye on world record
Can you imagine swimming 285 kilometres in just 70 hours?
Khittindra Chandra Boissya, a national swimming records-holder, has taken up the challenge to swim from Sylhet to Bhairab in Kishoreganj. Never mind he is 70 years old.
Boissya fought for Bangladesh’s independence back in 1971 when he just 19. Half a century later the Ekushey Padak-winner is up to conquer another dream of his life:create a world record in swimming.
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At 7 am on Monday, Boissya splashed in the River Surma from Chandnighat at Kean Bridge amid cheers from hundreds of fans and tight safety measures mounted by the district administration. He hopes to reach Bhairab in 70 hours.
Showers likely in Chattogram & Sylhet
Light to moderate showers are likely to drench Chattogram and Sylhet divisions in the next 24 hours, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department has predicted.
Also read: Rains likely to quell heat in Bangladesh
Showers are also likely to occur at one or two places over Rangpur, Rajshahi, Dhaka, Mymensingh, Khulna and Barishal divisions, the department said in its bulletin on Friday.
Day and night temperatures may remain nearly unchanged over the country during the same period, as per the forecast.
Also read: Rains to drench Bangladesh in 24 hours
However, in an extended outlook for the next 72 hours, the weather department predicts that the rainfall activity may increase.