Nandi Kumar Barman has been successful in cultivating various vegetables on the fallow land of Thakurgaon. He cultivated various vegetables on the 85 chhatak (over 1.5 bighas) vacant land in front of his house in the Zamindarpara of the municipal town. The vegetables produced on his land were able to meet his family’s needs and some of his neighbours' too. Nandi also said he benefited financially by selling the extra vegetables he cultivated. He was seen watering the vegetable fields and cleaning the weeds using modern equipment. There he cultivated various leafy vegetables including spinach, various types of grass, cucumbers etc. Nandi Kumar Barman said about three bighas (150 chhatak) of land in the Zamindarpara belonged to the late Taher Jamal Chowdhury. Some land here has been rented out to a private company (SERP) with a house on it. Also Read: Working at brick kiln, Thakurgaon’s Raju still managed to score GPA 5 in HSC As about 85 chhatak of land was lying vacant for a long time, Nandi planted red amarnath, spinach, napa cabbage, cucumber, and various varieties of grass there and made a profit. "Nandi’s cultivation of various vegetables on the fallow land is timely. If he wants, all kinds of support and advice would be given from the Department of Agriculture Extension,” said Md Sirajul Islam, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension, Thakurgaon. The target for the production of vegetables was set at 7,895 hectares of land in Thakurgaon this winter season. At present, almost all types of vegetables are in the market. Some more vegetables are under cultivation. There has been a good yield of vegetables this year and farmers are also getting fair prices, said the DAE official.      

Thakurgaon’s Raju Hossain’s life has always been a story of struggle with poverty. He had to work in a brick kiln to bear his education expenses. His sacrifice and hard work paid off, as the recently published HSC results gave him and his family a reason to celebrate. Concerns over his future still remain, however. Raju passed with the highest grade, GPA 5, from humanities group. He appeared in the HSC exams from Ranisankail Degree College in Thakurgaon under Dinajpur Education Board. “Though I should be celebrating, I’m actually very concerned right now. I have no idea how I would manage all of the necessary university expenses. I want to study law,” Raju said in a tensed voice. Raju recalled always working and often having only one meal a day at times. Also Read: Ramjan defies poverty with GPA-5 at HSC, but his university education uncertain “I still didn’t lose hope and continued my studies,” the youth said. After his HSC exam, he sought loans from an NGO to pay for his coaching class – for university admission – fees. However, he had to quit taking coaching classes because it was difficult to cover all the expenses with that amount. Raju’s father Anwar Hossain is a van-puller, and his mother Nazma Begum works in a cold storage facility. Because of the family’s financial situation, Raju’s younger sibling had to drop out of school. Raju began working various jobs in the hopes of improving his family’s financial situation. He worked as a van-puller in addition to working in a brick kiln. Read More: HSC Results: Jashore Board secures highest pass rate & Dhaka excels in GPA 5 “My son suffered a lot. I’m overjoyed with his accomplishment. At the same time, I am concerned about how he will continue his studies,” Raju’s mother said. Raju’s teacher, Ranisankail Degree College’s lecturer, Safikur Islam Alam said, as Raju had to work as a day labourer, he was not regular in classes. “We are aware of his hardship. We are proud of him,” he said. The teacher urged the local affluent people to come to Raju’s aid so that the bright student can continue his studies and fulfil his dream of studying law. Read More: Physical constraint couldn’t deter Jashore girl to score GPA 5  Local Union Parishad chairman Abdul Bari said he was not aware of Raju’s case. “I’m delighted to learn this. I will personally assist him with his educational expenses,” he said. Sohel Sultan Zulkar Nain, UNO of Ranisankail, said the upazila administration will help Raju. “Raju has proven that if there’s a will, there’s a way. I will personally help him too.” A total of 10,11, 987 examinees, out of 11,77, 387, passed the 2022 HSC exams under 11 education boards of the country. Read More: GPA system in SSC, HSC under review: Secretary Of them, 1,76,282 students secured the highest grade, GPA 5, this year.

Two people were killed in Sadar upazila after a truck rammed into a motorcycle Wednesday, police said. The deceased were identified as 40-year-old Rashedul Islam and 30-year-old Md Arshad from the Shahapara area of Thakurgaon municipality. "The accident occurred around 4pm as a Dhaka-bound truck from Panchagarh mowed Rashedul and Arshad down with their motorcycle in front of a filling station. The duo died from the impact of the crash," Md Kamal Hossain, officer-in-charge of Thakurgaon Sadar Police Station, said. Read more: Transwoman found dead in Thakurgaon "We seized the truck, but its driver managed to flee," he added.

A girl allegedly committed suicide after failing the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination in Molanipara village of Thakurgaon Sadar upazila on Monday. Shrabanti Rani,15, daughter of Ramesh Chandra of the village, appeared in the SSC examination from Mathurapur High School. Read more: Mymensingh girl commits suicide over SSC result Kamal Hossain, officer-in-charge of sadar police station said that Shrabanti's family members scolded her after learning that she failed to pass the exam. Shrabanti killed herself after swallowing pesticide after that, added the OC. Read more: Barishal student ‘commits suicide’ after failing in exam

A couple and their daughter were killed as a bus hit their motorbike on Thakurgaon-Baliadanga road in Sadar upazila of the district Sunday morning. The deceased were identified as Masudur Rahman, 55, his wife Hasina Begum, 45 and their 14-year-old daughter Meger Negar Simi. They were residents of Mathurapur village in Sadar upazila. Police and witnesses said riding on the motorbike the couple was taking their daughter to a madrasha as her annual examination was going on. Read more: Road accident: 4 of a family killed in Brahmanbaria The Dhaka-bound bus of ‘Hanif Paribahan’ rammed into the motorbike in Hariharpur area around 9.30am, leaving Hasina dead on the spot and two others critically injured, they said. Masudur and his daughter succumbed to their injuries after they were admitted to Sadar Hospital, said Shihab Mahmud, a physician of the hospital. Kamal Hossain, Officer-in-charge of Sadar police station, said drive is on to arrest the bus driver. Read more: 4 of a family killed in Nawabganj road crash

A total of 3,000 hens in a farm in Thakurgaon sadar upazila died over the last two days, after the owner fed them a medicine suggested by a representative of a pharmaceutical company. The incident occurred at Mominul Haque’s poultry farm at Munsipara village. Read more: Shariatpur poultry farmers' dreams now stretch beyond Padma Bridge Sixteen-hundred hens died on Saturday and another 1480 on Sunday, after receiving a dose of the medicine Tamowet, recommended by one Mahabub, a representative of FNF Pharmaceuticals Ltd, said Haque. He said Mahabub suggested the cold medicine and he gave it to 4,000 Sonali breed hens of his farm on Friday, at a cost of Tk 16,000. Mominul said within a few days he would have sold the hens, but now he has suffered a loss of Tk 6 lakh. Read more: Govt to help safe & sustained poultry production: Minister When contacted, Mahabub, the accused pharmaceutical representative, said that the hens may have died due to an overdose and it’s not his fault. However, Dr Al Mamun, veterinary doctor who was called in after the incident, said the antibiotic medicine suggested by Mahabub is for Layer breeds of chicken, not the Sonali breed, and that may have caused the  adverse reaction and deaths.

Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) has suspended one of its leaders from Thakurgaon for allegedly making defamatory remarks on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the National Mourning Day programme. The suspended leader has been identified as Arif Khan Joy, general secretary of BCL’s Samir Uddin Memorial College unit, according to a press release issued by the Thakurgaon BCL unit on Monday. The district BCL unit has also asked Joy to submit a written explanation on the allegation brought against him within three days. Also read: Police baton-charge BCL men in Barguna: Probe body finds 13 police at fault It has warned of making recommendations to the BCL central committee president and general secretary for his expulsion in case the response is not satisfactory. Also read: Eden College: BCL president threatens to drive out some students On August 15, a 15-second video of Joy went viral on social media where he made the purported derogatory comments on Bangabandhu. After the video was brought to the district BCL unit’s attention, it decided to suspend him.

A newly married woman was found hanging from the ceiling of her room in Thakugaon’s Baliadangi upazila on Monday, police said. The woman was identified as Tajmin Akter Bithi, daughter of Tojammel Haque of Raymahal village in the upazila. Locals said Bithi got married to Mamun, son of Monir Uddin of Mahatobosti village of the same upazila, some three months ago. But they had a troubled marriage, with a family feud being the main reason. Also read: Vet found dead in Dhaka flat On Monday afternoon, family members found Bithi hanging from the ceiling of her bedroom with a scarf around her neck and informed the police. "On information, we rushed to the spot. It seemed she hanged herself with a scarf," said Khairul Alam, officer-in-charge of Baliadangi police station. The body has been sent to a local hospital morgue for an autopsy. "A probe has been ordered into the death," the OC added. Also read: Transwoman found dead in Thakurgaon

Three cases have been filed against 800 people over violence centering Bachor UP polls results  in Ranisankail Upazila of Thakurgaon when a nine-month old was shot dead in ‘police firing’. The first case was filed on Saturday afternoon against 350 anonymous people at the police station upon receiving a complaint from the presiding officer of the polling center Md Khatibar Rahman, said Thakurgaon Superintendent of Police Md Jahangir Hossain. On Wednesday night, Thakurgaon sadar police station ASI Bilash Chandra Roy lodged another case against 150-200 unnamed people on charges of obstructing cops from performing their duties and attacking them at the polling centre. Read:350 sued over Thakurgaon UP polls violence that left infant dead Ranisankail Police Station ASI Ahadul Zaman filed the third case on the same night against 200-250 unnamed people over besieging the police station. On Wednesday evening, when results of Bachor UP election were announced at VF Junior High School polling center, supporters of a defeated candidate attacked police. At one point of the clash police fired bullets to take control of the situation. Unfortunately Suraiya Akter Asha, who was on her mother’s lap at that time, was shot in the head. After the incident, enraged locals besieged some police members including Officer-in-Charge of Ranisankail police station SM Zahid Iqbal for few hours at Khutiatuli area. Later additional police members rescued them and sent two cops to hospital. On Thursday, a three-member probe body was formed by Thakurgaon district administration over the incident with district magistrate Ramkrishna Barman as its head and additional superintendent of police Mirza Tarek and district election officer Saiful Islam as members. The committee was asked to submit a report within seven days.

Forced by poverty, day-labourer Matiur Rahman, 46, from Baliadangi upazila of Thakurgaon, has decided to sell his seven-month-old baby girl Sammi to arrange money to run his family. In his family of six members, he always struggles to earn bread for all due to poverty. Eldest daughter Parul, 14, is in ninth grade, Sumaiya Akhtar, 9, is in 3rd grade in a local school and Suraiya Akhtar, 6, is studying in a madrasa next to the house. He was not able to bear the education expenses of three daughters and the expenses of 7-month-old baby girl Shammi which forced him to take the baby to a local market for sale or adoption on Sunday. But when the locals got to know this they suggested him not to sell the child and father Matiur brought the child back home. Read:Govt. seeks higher growth for lower poverty, says budget document Father Matiur said, “I have no son. I am the only earning member in the family. Three meals a day is not enough with the daily wage.” Mother Nazma Begum, 39, said, “Our eldest daughter is studying in class IX and she will be married off soon. But we have no property to educate the girls and get them married.” “So my husband took my youngest daughter to the market to sell to people,” she added. In this regard, UP member of Bara Palashbari Union Harun Or Rashid said he will arrange assistance for Motiur from the Union Parishad and the government. Baliadangi Upazila Executive Officer (UNO) Moha Jobair Hossain also assured Matiur of financial assistance.