An accused in a murder case was shot dead in Abhaynagar upazila of Jashore on Wednesday morning. The deceased was identified as Subrata Mondal, 42, of the upazila, a fish trader. He was an accused in the murder case of Rakibul, a member of Phultala Bazar Merchants Association. Read more: Rickshaw-puller shot dead over “trivial matter” in Pabna AK Shamim, officer-in-charge (OC) of Abhaynagar police station, said two miscreants coming in a motorcycle shot him in his head near Damukhali Primary School on his way to Bhabdaha wholesale fish market around 8am and fled the scene. The body was sent to Jashore General Hospital morgue for an autopsy, he added. Read more: Rebel UP chairman shot dead in Narsingdi Efforts are on to arrest the killers, said the OC.

Jashore and Chuadanga districts recorded the lowest temperature in Bangladesh, at 7.8 degree Celsius, in 24 hours till this morning as a mild cold wave is sweeping across the country. Chuadanga has been recording the lowest temperatures for the third consecutive day, said Rakibul Hasan, officer-in-charge of Chuadanga's local meteorological office. “This situation will remain for a day or two. The temperature may drop further,” he added. Dhaka recorded 12.3 degree Celsius during this period. Read more: Cold wave grips parts of Bangladesh; situation likely to improve after 2/3 days A mild to moderate cold wave is sweeping over Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions and the districts of Tangail, Faridpur, Manikganj, Jashore, Chuadanga, Satkhira and Kushtia and it may continue, Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) said this morning. Besides, moderate to thick fog may occur over the country from midnight to morning, and it may continue till noon at places. Night temperature may remain nearly unchanged and day temperature may rise slightly over the country. Due to the reduced difference between day and night temperature, moderate to severe cold conditions are likely over the country, it added. Weather may remain dry with temporary partly cloudy skies over the country. Read more: Chuadanga shivering as country’s lowest temperature recorded at 8.4 degree C A biting cold spell has also continued to sweep across Kurigram. The district recorded 8.6 degree Celsius temperature in 24 hours till this morning, said Kurigram's Rajarhat Agricultural Meteorological Office's Meteorological Observer Tuhin Miah. Due to the downtrend in the temperature, the people of char areas of 16 rivers including Brahmaputra, Dharla, Teesta and Dudhkumar are facing difficulties. Also, the number of diarrhoea and pneumonia patients – mostly children and the elderly – is increasing in hospitals of Kurigram, said Kurigram General Hospital’s resident physician Dr Shahinur Rahman Shipon. Read More: Khulna struggles to cope with biting cold wave

At least five people, including a man and his son, were killed as a covered van veered off the road and ploughed into a roadside restaurant in Manirampur upazila of Jashore early Friday, police said. The five people killed were identified as Habibur Rahman, 55, his son Taosi, 7, Ziarul, 35, Tauhidur, 35, and Mir Shamsul, 50, of the upazila. Read more: Driver, helper dead in Dinajpur road accident "The accident occurred around 7:30am when the driver of a covered van lost control of his vehicle and ploughed into a restaurant in Begaritola when three of the five people were having breakfast, and others were standing nearby. They immediately died from the impact of the crash," Sheikh Moniruzzaman, officer-in-charge (OC) of Manirampur Police Station, said. Read more: 3 of a family dead in Thakurgon road accident "Police seized the covered van, but its driver managed to flee. The bodies were sent to Jashore General Hospital," the OC added.

At least 20 workers were injured as a fire broke out at a jute mill in Sharsha upazila of Jashore on Saturday. The fire started around 1 am in Afil Jute Weaving Mill owned by Sheikh Afil Uddin, a member of parliament from Jessore-1 constituency, said Manoranjan Sarkar, Assistant Director of Benapole fire service. The flames was bought under control after strenuous effort of six firefighting units from Jashore, Jhikargacha and Benapole fire service, he said. Read more: Car servicing centre fire guts 5 vehicles, one restaurant in Rajshahi city Blaze doused after 2 hours Of the injured workers, Akher Ali was admitted to Jashore General Hospital with severe burn injury while others were released after giving primary medications, he said. Three warehouses of the mill were gutted in the fire,said Abdul General Manager of Afil Jute Mill. “We suspect the fire originated from an electric short circuit. The extent  of damages can be confirmed after proper investigation, said fire service official Manoranjan Sarkar. Read more: Gazipur RMG factory fire tamed after two hours

The leaders and activists of Awami League (AL) are preparing to hold the party’s rally in Jashore on Thursday when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to be present as chief guest. A boat-shaped stage has already been prepared at the rally venue at Jashore Stadium. The law enforcement agencies and district administration deployed Rapid Action Battalion’s (Rab) dog squad with other precautions from Tuesday to ensure security as around “10 lakh” people are expected to join the rally. Read more: Don’t harm nature during project implementation: PM Hasina Jashore District Awami League senior vice-president and convener of stage decoration sub-committee Abdul Majid said they were ready to make the rally successful.   Jashore District AL President Shahidul Islam Milon said the people of the district and the southern region are eagerly waiting to hear the speech of the Prime Minister. Expecting the Jashore stadium to be a human sea tomorrow, Milon said additional preparations have also been made to hold the rally in an orderly and festive atmosphere. “The PM’s rally in Jashore will prove that the Awami League is against anarchy and chaos. And the party is determined to take the country forward in line with the spirit of the Liberation War,” said the AL leader. Read more: PM Hasina hails the Armed Forces for standing by the people : PM A team of 400 volunteers has been formed to make the rally a success. The members of this committee will assist those coming to the rally, said District AL Secretary for Relief and Social Welfare Affairs and convener of Discipline and Volunteer Sub-Council Sukhen Majumdar. Preparations for drinking water and sanitation at the rally in Jashore Stadium connecting the field of Abdur Razzak College have also been completed properly, said the district’s Public Health Engineering Directorate Executive Engineer Zahid Parvez. From Jashore airport to the stadium, the walls of public-private and autonomous institutions have been painted in different colours with the PM's speech and various slogans of the party. Repair work of the damaged road has already been completed. Read more: Bangladesh has changed a lot under Awami League govt: PM Hasina Jashore Sadar Traffic Inspector Subhendu Kumar Munshi said 12 specific routes have been allowed to reach the venue. No vehicles will enter the city on the day of the rally. Around 20 parking areas have been selected as per the target of district Awami League, he added.

Fish traders in Jashore have started to earn much needed foreign currency by selling fish scales. Fish scales are sold at a rate of Tk 15 a kg in the fish markets of the district. After some processing, these residual parts of fishes are exported to many south-east Asian countries including China and Japan. According to Export Promotion Bureau statistics, Bangladesh exports fish scales worth Tk 200 crore every year. Fish scales are used to produce batteries, electrical products, artificial cornea and bones, medicines, fish and poultry feed and various cosmetics items. Visiting many fish markets in Jashore, UNB found fish scales in high demand. Besides charging Tk 10 for cutting a 1kg fish, fish cutters of Jashore earn Tk 20,000 extra per month by selling the scales. “Not only scales but we also sell fish galls. Galls are used to produce fish feed, while gills of fishes are used to make soups after drying,” said Md Jahid, a fish cutter. Read more: Bagerhat's Dublar Char abuzz as fish drying season begins Bagerhat's Dublar Char abuzz as fish drying season begins Md Bablu is a warehouse owner who collects fish scales from various fish markets of Jashore on a daily basis. Talking to UNB, Bablu said that he sells fish scales to traders in Chattogram, who then export the item to other countries. “I sell fish scales at a rate of Tk 2500 to Tk 3000 per maund (1 maund = approx. 40kg). The business was first started by a Dhaka-based trader named Shamsul Alam. Fish scales contain chemical components like collagen fibre and amino acid, which are necessary to produce cosmetics items and medicines,” said Bablu. After talking to some traders, UNB learned the process by which fish scales are prepared for selling. First, fish scales are collected and washed in clean or warm water to get rid of oily substances. After washing, wet scales are dried in the open to make them crispy. Some people grind the scales in mixers and sell them as powder. Prices of fish scales vary according to the type and size of fish from which they come.  Scales of big fish are sold at high rates, while those of small fish like shrimp are sold at a different rate. Besides, the prices of fish galls and gills are also different from the prices of scales. According to Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority, only 10-12 traders are involved in exporting fish scales. However, around 5,000 people are directly involved with the trade. A total of 2,500 tons of fish scales are exported every year, which brings home foreign currencies worth Tk 200 crore. Read more: Cox’s Bazar fishermen rejoice as Bay swarms with Hilsa Fish scale traders said that their business has the potential to grow more if they receive priority and focus from the government. “I’ll talk to the respective authorities so that fish scale business can be expanded,” said Tamijul Islam Khan, Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Jashore.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have seized 80 gold bars weighing 9.28 kg from Kashipur-Shahzadpur border in Chougachha upazila of Jashore. Tipped off, a team of BGB conducted a drive near the border on Saturday evening noticing suspicious movement of two Bangladeshi farmers, said Lt Col Shahed Minhaj Siddiqui, commanding officer of BGB-49 battalion. Read more: 2 held with 10 gold bars in Jashore The farmers fled the scene when BGB men challenged them.The law enforcers later noticed two more farmers’ roaming near the border at that time. Later, they found 80 gold bars worth Tk 8.32 crore  in four large bundles wrapped with adhesive tape in a pepper field there, said the Commander. The seized gold bars will be deposited in the government treasury through necessary legal action. Read more: Man held with 17 gold bars in Jashore

A Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinee and his domestic animal were electrocuted to death in Jashore's Abhaynagar upazila Saturday, police said. Joy Mandal, 18, was from the village Dahar Mashiahati of Sundoli union. Read: Newlywed couple electrocuted in Keraniganj "The 18-year-old came into contact with an earthing wire of an electric pole while taking his cow for a bath. The rope the cow was tethered to got stuck with the wire," Tajul Islam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Kotwali Model Police Station, said. “As the cow tried to break free, the main wire of the pole got disconnected. Both Joy and the cow came into contact with the live wire and died at the scene," the OC added.

Five teachers of Jashore board who were involved in making the question paper for Bangla 1st paper of Dhaka board’s HSC exam (academic session 2021-22) that contained communal element will be show-caused first, said Professor Tapan Kumar Sarkar, Chairman of  Dhaka Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board. The five teachers are Prashanta Kumar Paul, assistant professor of Dr Saiful Islam Degree College in Jhenaidah, Syed Tajuddin Shawon, associate professor of Government Victoria College in Narail, Md Shafiqur Rahman, associate professor of Satkhira Government Women College, Shyamol Kumar Ghosh, assistant professor of Mirzapur United College in Narail, and Md Rezaul Karim, assistant professor of Bheramara Ideal College in Kushtia. Of them, Professor Prashanat Kumar prepared the question and the others were involved in scrutinizing it, he said. Read more: Dipu Moni promises stern action against those responsible for bizarrely communal question According to the rules, those teachers from different educational institutions under Jashore board will be ordered to show cause, Professor Tapan Kumar UNB on Tuesday (November 08, 2022). After that punitive actions will be recommended against those teachers to Inter Education Board Coordination Committee and the Ministry of Education, he said. The ministry will then take further measures in this regard, said Tapan Kumar Sarkar. Read more: SSC exams: Bangla II's MCQ component postponed under Jashore board HSC and equivalent exams for the academic session 2021-22 began across the country with Bangla 1st Paper on Sunday (November 06, 2022). One question in Dhaka Board’s question paper raised a controversy and drew criticism. The bizarre and unnecessary passage said that two brothers, Nepal and Gopal (names generally used by Hindu community), had a land dispute. To punish his elder brother, Nepal sold the disputed land to a Muslim man named Abdul. But when the new owner sacrificed a cow on that land during Eid-ul-Azha, it hurt Nepal and he migrated to India. Read more: HSC exams begin across the country The controversial question in Dhaka Board's Bangla 1st paper 2022 HSC exam received huge criticism from people and educationists in Bangladesh for its blatant use of communal elements.

A four-year-old girl, who went missing two days ago, has been found dead in Sadar upazila in Jashore. The deceased was identified as Sanzida. On information, Detective Branch of Jashore police recovered the body from her neighbour’s house in Patengakhali village of the upazila Saturday night, said Mofizul Islam, sub-inspector (SI) of Jashore DB police. Sanzida went missing from her home on Friday noon. A FIR was lodged at Kotwali police station in this regard. Police detained their neighbour Anjuara for questioning. During questioning, she confessed that she had hidden the body inside a rice drum at her home, said SI Mofizul. The body was sent to Jashore General Hospital morgue for an autopsy, said Tajul Islam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Kotwali police station.