River, road and air communications across the country were disrupted Monday as dense fog blanketed the sky drastically reducing the visibility, report agencies. The disruption caused untold sufferings to hundreds of homebound people ahead of the Eid-ul Azha due to the prolonged delay in reaching their destinations. Departures of at least nine international and domestic flights were delayed from the Zia International Airport (ZIA) for the hostile weather, concerned sources said. However, the mild cold wave started sweeping in the northern part of the country since last Monday, has so far claimed 35 lives in different parts of the country. A container ship floundered and ran aground at the Karnaphuli river mouth on way from the Bay to the container-yard at the Chittagong port in the morning amid dense fog. The MV Bangabarti got trapped on the shoal as the fog blanketed the route. The port authority was supposed to start the work of salvaging the ship at night. The Biman Dhaka-Kathmandu and Dhaka-Bangkok-Singapore flights were delayed for several hours. The Dhaka-Kathmandu flight scheduled for 11am departed ZIA at 1:30pm while Dhaka-Bangkok-Singapore flight left 12:45pm instead of 11am. Domestic flights of Biman on Dhaka-Sylhet, Dhaka-Rajshahi-Syedpur and Dhaka-Chittagong were also disrupted due to inclement weather. Movement of ferries at Paturia-Doulatdia and Kazirhat routes was delayed for about nine hours due to poor visibility. The launches that left Dhaka for Patuakhali Sunday night reached their destinations eight hours after the scheduled time. The arrival of the long-distance buses on the Mawa route was also delayed due to heavy fog. Hundreds of vehicles on both sides of the ferry ghats remained stranded inflicting untold sufferings to the thousands of passengers. Hundreds of motor vehicles were seen in long queue on both sides of the ferry ghats to cross the river. The dense fog disrupted movement of river crafts in the rivers Dhaleshwari and Meghna. At least 10 Dhaka-bound launches from southern districts, hundreds of boats and trawlers, 40 speedboats and ships could not move amid dense fog. Ferry movement at Maowa ferry ghat was also disrupted from Sunday midnight to 7am Monday. Two ferries got stranded in the midway of the river Padma leaving hundreds of people waiting in two ghats. Another report adds: The country is likely to face a chilly spell after the Eid day with the temperature dropping under 8.0 degree Celsius, a weatherman in Dhaka Met Office said Monday. He said the present dense fog that shrouded most part of the country and partially disrupted normal life will continue for next 2-3 days when the sky will remain cloudy. With the clearing of fog, the country might experience a moderate spell of cold wave for 2-3 days. But if it continues for long, the moderate spell would turn into a severe spell. The Met Office said the intensity of winter this year would be more severe than last year. Meanwhile, bone-chilling cold has claimed 16 lives so far in different parts of Thakurgaon, Kurigram and Pabna districts. At least 130 children were admitted to different hospitals falling victims to cold diarrhoea in Khulna. In Thakurgaon, at least seven people died of cold wave in the district on Sunday and Monday as Himalayan breeze lashing the district. Those died of cold wave during the last two days are Khirdhar (50) of Keshurbari, Mojiron Bibi (65) of Tajpur, Rahmat Ali (72) of Chunihari, Akash (5) of Bhulli, Farooq (2) of Parpugi, Abdul Maleq (62) of Danahat village in sadar upazila and Murad (1) of the town's bus stand area. In Pabna, at least four people died of severe cold. The deceased were identified Tasirun Beoa (72) of Majhpara in Pabna Sadar upazila, Shetal (78) of Raninagar, Noon Miah (77) of Sadipur and Tazel (2) of Tebaria village in Santhia. In Kurigram, at least five people including children died in the district within the last 48 hours as they fell victims to diarrhoea, pneumonia and other cold related diseases.
|