Bone-chilling cold paralyzes life in Dinajpur

A shivering cold coupled with dense fog has been disrupting the daily activities of the people in the northern district of Dinajpur with the mercury dropping as low as 9.1°C on Monday morning.

The temperature has been hovering between 8°C-10°C since last week as a mild cold wave is sweeping across Dinajpur.

Dinajpur meteorological office's Md Asaduzzaman said the temperature may remain the same for another 1-2 days.  

The low-income people are bearing the brunt of the nipping cold as they are not able to go outside to work owing to a lack of warm clothes. Due to this, they are living a miserable life with their families. 

From morning to evening, the sun is seen very rarely. As the roads are covered with thick fog, vehicles are moving with their headlights on during the day to avoid accidents.

People are only going out of the house after the evening if there is an emergency. Most shop owners are closing their shops early as well. 

Meanwhile, Dinajpur M Abdur Rahim Medical College Hospital and Dinajpur General Hospital are seeing a surge in cold-related patients. 

Apart from these two hospitals, the number of children and elderly patients with cold-related diseases has also increased in other hospitals and clinics of the district including 12 upazila health complexes.

As a result, hospital doctors and nurses are struggling to provide medical services.

Dhaka Tribune

The district's Deputy Commissioner Khaled Mohammad Zaki said the district administration has already distributed 80,000 pieces of blankets among the poor and destitute people. 

An urgent message has been sent to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief for another 70,000 pieces of blankets.

Meanwhile, farmers are worried about seed beds as seedlings, affected by severe cold and heavy fog, are turning yellow and red in color. 

Abdus Sattar, a farmer of Sadar upazila, said the seeds are turning yellow due to severe winter and thick fog. In some places, the seed bed has curled up in the winter. 

If such weather continues for a few more days, the farmers will face huge losses, he added.