MADARIPUR, Dec 22: Heavy rain and freezing wind brought a standstill to the public life in the district, with the sun remained invisible from Saturday morning to noon.
As the sun was not visible anywhere in Madaripur, residents in different chars, including Shibchar Upazila mostly, are the most suffering localities
.
The bone-chilling cold has been hitting low-income people strongly. They are suffering much.
In different areas, the poor men were seen trying making fire of straws to keep themselves warmed.
Along with the prevailing cold severity, cold disease patients have increased in all hospitals in the district, mostly affected by diarrhoea and pneumonia.
The District Health Department is also trying to provide medical services to the helpless people. Yet, the hospital authorities are struggling due to the high number of patients.
A driver, Anwar Hossain said, "We run our family by driving an auto-van. On top of that, the cold has been increasing with the wind for the past few days. Even by making a fire with straw, the cold cannot be kept off. Fewer people are coming out. So, there is no income. If it continues like this for a few more days, we will starve to death."
Van driver Galib Bepari said, "The cold has been increasing for two days. Even then, it has been raining heavily since morning. A cold wind is blowing at night. That is why the cold is felt worse when I drive the van. Sometimes, the village becomes icy. I am in trouble due to the cold. I will not even get the deposit for the van. I have left aside my family expenses."
Madaripur District Meteorological Office Chief Inspector AR Santu said, "The severity of the cold may increase further throughout the week. There will also be light rain in many places. However, the temperature is currently 13 degree Celsius in the district. The temperature may decrease further in the future. The intensity of the cold will also increase with the rain."
