Tentulia shivers as mercury dips

People in Panchagarh’s Tentulia shiver as temperature plummeted further to 9.8 degrees Celcius on Friday morning, the lowest in the country.

Tentulia, the last border town in Bangladesh’s north, experiences extreme cold weather in winter. On Thursday, the temperature was recorded at 11.4 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature of the day was 23.1 degrees.

Meanwhile, the intensity of winter has increased due to the Himalayan winds coming from the mounted, according to the Met office.

Friday’s chilly weather disrupted normal life in the region. Hardworking daily wage earners have fallen into extreme misery due to severe weather.

According to various government and non-government organizations in the district, the number of workers at stone quarries and tea workers, day laborers and helpless uprooted people is over three lakh.

In the last one month, some 24,000 blankets have been officially distributed among them. Apart from the government, about five thousand more winter clothes have been distributed in the district by various voluntary organizations and individuals.

Most of them have been distributed in district or upazila headquarters. Officially allocated blankets have been distributed in each union from two to three hundred, according to the officials.

Additional Director Masum Ali of the Department of Social Services said that the number of people receiving various government benefits in the district is about 75,000.

Tentulia Met office in-charge Russell Shah said that the temperature may drop further in the coming days.