Prolonged cold wave batters the north

The ongoing cold wave sweeping across the northern region continued to intensify the suffering of poor and margnalised communities yesterday.

Panchagarh’s Tentulia upazila recorded 8.5 degrees Celsius yesterday, the country’s lowest temperature for the eighth consecutive day. 

Meteorological officials say icy winds from the Himalayas are intensifying the cold spell across northern Bangladesh, particularly in Panchagarh and Thakurgaon districts, and the present conditions are expected to persist for the next few days.

Daily wage earners are the worst sufferers amid declining incomes, as they are facing difficulties in coping with the prolonged cold spell while earning their livelihoods.

Taherul Islam and Nazirul Islam of Buraburi Balabari village in Tentulia upazila, who earn their livelihoods by extracting stones from the Mahananda River, said they have been forced to cut their working hours due to adverse weather.

Usually, they work from 8:00am to 5:00pm throughout the year. However, for more than a week now, they have been going to the river only after 10:00am and wrapping up work by 3:00pm, as cold winds continue to blow throughout the day. As such, their daily income declined from Tk 800-1,000 to only around Tk 400 per day.

Shafiqul Islam, a rickshaw-van puller from Aziznagar area, said, “I can work for four to five hours during the daytime, but it has become almost impossible to stay on the road and pull the van amid cold weather in the early morning and evening.”

Moreover, poor people -- especially children and the elderly -- are bearing the brunt of the prolonged cold spell.

Amena Bewa, 72, of Sardarpara village, said it has become a daily struggle to just survive the cold.

To support cold-stricken poor people, the government and various non-government organisations have been distributing blankets and warm clothes, though the supply remains inadequate compared to demand.

Contacted, Afroz Shaheen Qhosru, upazila nirbahi officer of Tentulia, said 3,500 blankets have been distributed among people, with around 400 more in the pipeline.

Meanwhile, hospitals across the region have reported an influx of patients suffering from cold-related ailments, particularly children and elderly people.

Agriculture officials advised farmers to take precautionary measures to protect crops, especially Boro seedbeds, which have already been affected in some areas.