Sirajganj cold victims cry for warm clothes

Staff Reporter, Sirajganj :

Unprecedented cold wave during the last few days had almost halted normal life in Sirajgonj. Severe cold wind coming from the Himalayas has made live of the dwellers, specially the homeless people of this small town miserable. At least 12 people admitted Sirajgonj Sadar Hospital due to cold wave that had been attacked with various cold related diseases. Intensity of cold worsens after mid-day and turns extremely unbearable in the evening. Everyday fog clouds the town until 8 to 9 am and vehicles ply in the streets till noon with their headlights still on. Although the sun appears for a while around 10 am, but it soon disappears to the dismay of the dwellers. Last Monday morning drizzles made things even worse. Destitute are trying to combat this bitter wave through heat generated from burning heaps of straws and old rubber tires. On the other hand second hand warm cloth’s sellers are making best use of this situation are earning handsomely by raising the pries two and even three times. Diseases like fever, cough, cold and dysentery Pneumonia have also alarmingly increased. The only government hospital is crowded with bronchitis and asthma patients. But the hospital is short of oxygen and do not have the “lobolizer machine.” As a result, distress and sufferings of the patients know no bounds. The owners medicine pharmacies also making good use of this abnormal situation have doubled prices of life saving “salbutamol inhalers.”
However, Sirajganj Deputy Commissioner Mir Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman told The New Nations that government distributed near about 50 thousand pieces of worm clothes among the cold victim.
The severe cold in this small district town situated near the Jamuna river side is usually bitter than other areas of the country which usually deteriorates in mid December and January observers feel that this cold will worsen further during next few weeks. Cultivation of winter crops, particularly potato is facing damage from this unnatural coldness.
Although some voluntary organisations have come forward with warm clothing for the destitute, but this is extremely merger compared to requirements. Authoritative sources believe unless the government and the rich section of the country come forward with arrangement for distribution of sufficient warm clothes for the homeless people in this area, possibility of loss of life from this bitter and severe cold may not be ignored.