Overspeeding of buses and movement on the wrong side of the road were blamed for the deadly road accident that left five people killed and 27 others injured in Faridpur Sadar upazila early Tuesday, according to authorities. Maruf Hossain, assistant superintendent of Faridpur Highway Police, said the collision occurred between a Jhenaidah-bound bus of Green Express and a Dhaka-bound bus of Khagrachhari Paribahan carrying some 40 workers for brick kilns when the Green Express bus was running on wrong side in Mallikpur area of Faridpur Sadar around 4am. He held over speed and movement on the opposite side responsible for the accident that claimed five lives including supervisor and helper of the Khagrachhari Paribahan. The deceased were identified as Abu Bakkar, Babu, Pikul, Md Mohsin, Nahid. Of them, Moshin was supervisor and Nahid was helper. Read: 20 dead, 24 injured in Sylhet division road accidents in Sept The workers were going to Dhaka from Satkhira’s Shyamnagar upazila to seasonally work for brick kilns in Dhaka, he said, adding that most workers were asleep during the accident. All the 27 were admitted to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical College Hospital in Faridpur while condition of the six injured was stated to be critical, he said. One of the injured was shifted to Dhaka for better treatment, said Dr Mahmuduzzaman, a physician of the hospital. Faridpur Deputy Commissioner (DC) Md Kamrul Hasan Molla and Superintendent of Police (SP) Md Abudl Jail visited the spot on Tuesday morning. The DC said each family of the deceased was distributed Tk 25, 000 and Tk 10, 000 to each family of the 17 injured. Read more: Two killed in Dinajpur road accident He said a probe committee will be formed to find out why such accidents happen there repeatedly. Echoing highway police officer Maruf, SP said the doziness of the drivers might be the reason behind the accident. District labour organisations suggested keeping two drivers for a long route journey.

A head-on collision between two buses left five people dead and at least 20 injured in Mallikpur Sadar Upazila of Faridpur early Tuesday, police said. The crash involved two buses, one belonging to 'Jhinaidah Paribahan' coming from Dhaka to Jhinaidah, and the other from 'Green Express' heading to Dhaka from Jhenaidah. According to highway police, at least 15 of the injured have been admitted to Faridpur Medical College Hospital. However, the identities of the deceased and injured are yet to be confirmed. 2 killed in Bogra road crash while going to attend funeral Highway police and fire service personnel have jointly conducted rescue operations at the scene, said Karimpur Highway Police Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mohammad Salauddin Chowdhury. The buses involved in the accident have been seized and brought to the Karimpur Highway Police Station, he added. 

Two college students died apparently after drinking toxic alcohol in Faridpur town on Saturday. The deceased were Puja Biswas,20, daughter of Sadhan Biswas from Debila village in Shalikha upazila of Magura and first year student of a college and Ratna Saha,26, daughter of Ratan Kumar Saha from Amgram in Boalmari upazila of Faridpur  and a  student at Government Rajendra College. According to the victims' families and hospital sources, the two students used to live in a rented house in Kanai Matbar Mor area at Alipur in Faridpur town. Brother ‘kills’ sister, sister-in-law over land dispute in Meherpur After returning from a Durga Puja festival on Friday evening, they fell sick. Bithi Saha, another tenant of the house, said that as their condition worsened, they were rushed to Faridpur Medical College Hospital around midnight. Hospital sources one of them was brought dead to the hospital while the other passed away around 4 am while undergoing treatment. Kotwali police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Asaduzzaman said the bodies was sent to Faridpur Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy. The exact cause of their death will be revealed after the autopsy, he added.

Following the announcement of a Tk 50,000 bounty for catching a Russell’s viper alive, residents along the Padma riverbank in Faridpur have become desperate to capture the snakes. Last Thursday, Shah Md Ishtiak Arif, general secretary of the Faridpur district unit of the Awami League, announced the Tk 50,000 bounty for each live Russell’s viper in the Kotwali area of Faridpur. He made the announcement during a speech at a meeting over the party's founding anniversary. What to do when you encounter a Russell's Viper: Environment Ministry issues guidelines In response to the announcement, Rezaul Khan, a farmer from Aliabad union, found a Russell’s viper while working on his land and captured it, confining the snake in an aluminum pot. He then took the snake to Ward Councillor Awlad Hossain, who instructed him to submit it to the local forest department and obtain an acknowledgement letter. However, Rezaul expressed frustration as the forest department authorities neither accepted the snake nor provided an acknowledgement letter. Over the past two days, several snakes have been caught and taken to the forest department, creating chaos as people sought receipts for their captures. Health Minister orders ensuring adequate stock of Russell's Viper antivenom in all hospitals Golam Kuddus Bhuiyan, Divisional Forest Officer, stated that there is no legal provision for catching these snakes, and doing so is considered illegal. "We can’t provide any acknowledgement letter for this. So far, three people have tried to submit snakes expecting a bounty until Sunday noon. We are facing a problem," he said. Meanwhile, Rezaul took the snake to the Faridpur Press Club on Saturday night.

Residents of Faridpur staged a protest today (May 05, 2024) at the railway station, demanding a stoppage for the Chandana commuter train that travels from Rajbari to Dhaka.  The protest began at 5:15 am. The train, which had departed from Rajbari, arrived at Faridpur at 5:40 am. During the protest, demonstrators physically halted the train and expressed their discontent through a peaceful demonstration. They also welcomed the train's conductor and other staff with flowers as a gesture of goodwill despite their grievances. The protestors addressed the inconvenience caused by the absence of a scheduled stop at Faridpur station, which denies local passengers the facility to travel conveniently to Dhaka.  Sylhet lands in darkness as Ashuganj power grid collapses Speakers at the protest, including Abrar Nadim Itu, Sharif Khan, Tuhin Bin Alamgir, Ashish Kumar Kundu, Selim Mia, Ali Makim, Iqbal Hossain, Sohan, and Arif Sheikh, emphasized the need for the stoppage to facilitate easy travel for Faridpur residents to and from the capital. In response to the protest, the train's conductor, Mahibul Islam, immediately contacted higher authorities to relay the concerns raised. He mentioned that a decision regarding the stoppage might be announced later that day. Railway sources confirmed that as of Sunday, the Chandana commuter train began operating commercially on the Rajbari-Bhanga-Dhaka route, following its official inauguration on Saturday. However, the lack of a stop at Faridpur station has caused significant dissatisfaction among local commuters, who have urged the railway ministry and relevant officials to urgently address this issue and implement a stop at Faridpur for the benefit of the local populace. Gazipur train derailment: Salvage operation still on 24 hours post-collision

Thousands of villagers on Tuesday clashed with law enforcers as the public demanded the arrests of the accused involved in the brutal deaths of two construction workers in a mob beating following a fire at a temple in Madhukhali upazila of Faridpur last Thursday (April 18, 2024) night. Some members of the law enforcing agencies and villagers were injured in the clash that lasted for around three hours on Dhaka-Khulna highway but the exact number of the injured could not be ascertained. One of the injured was sent to Bangabandhu Sheik Mujib Medical College Hospital in the district due to critical condition, confirmed Madhukhali police station’s Officer-in-Charge Miraj Hossain. Witnesses said thousands of villagers formed a human demanding arrest of the accused on Dhaka-Khulna highway in Madhukhali Sadar in the morning and later brought out a protest procession which started heading towards Dumain Panchapalli where the lynching occurred last Thursday. Read more: HC directs judicial inquiry to identify those responsible for topsoil depletion in Satkania Being barred from the law enforcers, the villagers became angry over the matter and started hurling brickbats targeting the enforcers, resulting in a chase and counter-chase for the three hours. Due to the clash, hundreds of vehicles got stuck on both sides of the road, causing immense suffering amid the scorching heat. Deputy Commissioner Md Qamrul Ahsan Talukder said he tried to assuage the agitated villagers but they didn’t pay heed to it. “On behalf of the administration, we will consider the demand for which you are agitating with utmost importance. But the protesters did not respond to the administration's call and continued their programme,” he said. Additional superintendent of police Md Imdad Hossain said following the Panchapalli incident, protesters tried to block the road from Madhukhali Sadar to Kamarkhali, while police tried to disperse them by firing tear gas and blank bullets at some places. “We completely cleared the road by 3 pm. Vehicular movement is now normal,” the police officer said. Read more: Money Embezzlement Case: HC issues rule on bail of Major Mannan and 6 others

At least 13 people were dead and 15 others were injured in a head-on collision between a bus and a pickup van on the Dhaka-Khulna highway at Sadar upazila in Faridpur district this morning (April 16, 2024). All the victims were passengers of the pickup van, and five of them were from the same family. Two dead, 20 injured in head-on collision between buses in Mymensingh Some of the deceased were identified as Rafiq Mollah, 35, his wife Sumi Begum, 23, his sons Ruhan Mollah, 6, and Habib Mollah, 3, and Rafiq's mother. Rafiq worked as a liftman at a government office in Dhaka. After the Eid holidays, he was returning to Dhaka with his family. The identities of the other deceased could not be known immediately.

Around hundreds of houses were damaged while a number of trees were uprooted during a nor’wester in Faridpur district early Thursday (March 28, 2024). Twenty villages under Pachuria and Bana unions in Alfadanga upazila of the district were battered by the storm. Residents of the 20 villages – Sirgram, Garania, Pakuria, Taboni, Tonapara, Sialdi Charpara, Joydebpur, Aushir haat, Kutharakandi, Majpara, Arpara in Bana union; Jugibarat, Bhatpara, Chandra, Pachuria, Deuli, Charnarandia, Dhuljuri and Charbhatpara in Pachuria union – remained in darkness as many electric wires were also snapped during the storm. A vast track of cropslands were also damaged while trees were uprooted, halting road communications in different parts of the upazila. Read more: Rains likely in parts of Dhaka, 7 other divisions AKM Zahidul Hasan Zahid, chairman of Alfadanga upazila, said the storm started sweeping through the upazila around 1 am. Many people have taken shelter under the open sky as their thatched houses were blown away during the storm. Additional General Manager of Alfadanga Sub-zonal officer of Palli Bidyut Samity, said some electric poles were uprooted while some wires got snapped, disrupting power connection. Work is going on to resume power supply, he said. Quamrul Ahsan Talukdar, deputy commissioner of Faridpur, said directives have been given to provide all-out support to those affected in the storm. Read more: Women's perspectives are vital in climate action: Environment Minister

In the Gobindapur area of Ambikapur union, Sadar upazila, Faridpur district, Lovely Akter and Imtiaz Mollah have transformed their fortunes and become a beacon of success in onion seed farming, locally referred to as “black gold”. Starting with just two bighas of land, the couple has expanded their cultivation to 40 bighas, witnessing substantial economic growth that allowed them to construct a multi-storey building and continually invest in new land. The duo, parents to a tenth grader and a fourth grader, embarked on this venture after observing the lucrative outcome of onion seed cultivation within their family post-marriage. After her marriage, she found that some family members among her in-laws were involved in onion seed cultivation and decided to join along with her husband in this endeavor. They earned good money in the first year and haven't looked back since, Lovely shared. Onion prices fall by Tk30 per kg as seasonal supply rises in market

In Faridpur, a significant increase in mustard cultivation has been reported, with the area under mustard crops expanding by over 2,000 hectares from the previous season. This expansion anticipates a high-yield output valued at an impressive Tk 151.38 crore. The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Faridpur has noted that mustard now spans 14,842 hectares, targeting a yield of 1,360 kg per hectare. Given the current market rate, which surpasses Tk 3,000 per maund, the district's projected earnings are substantial. Govt initiative to reduce edible oil imports: Jashore’s mustard farmers anticipate exceptional harvest Anwar Hossain, the Agriculture Officer of Faridpur Sadar upazila, attributes this growth to the rising prices of edible oils. He observed that mustard cultivation has become a preferred choice in nearly all fields across the district’s nine upazilas. “Farmers are increasingly turning to mustard due to its lower maintenance, availability of resources like fertilizers and medicines, and encouraging government policies,” said Hossain. The district has seen the cultivation of various mustard varieties, including BARI-14, 15, 16, 17, Bina-4, 8, 9, and Tori-7. This diversification, coupled with the growing demand for pure mustard oil, has led farmers to focus on high-yielding strains. Local farmers, Ibrahim Mollah and Rahim Matabbar from Ambikapur, highlighted the advice from the Department of Agriculture to plant an additional crop before the boro paddy season. This strategy maximizes the use of fields and aligns with the mustard’s shorter growth period of just 80-90 days. Farmers expect bumper mustard yield in Khulna The cost of cultivating mustard ranges from Tk 7,000 to Tk 8,000 per bigha, with the potential to yield 5-6 maunds of seeds per bigha, especially under favorable weather conditions. This efficient production cycle and promising market rates are driving Faridpur’s agricultural sector towards a robust mustard season.