People of Rangpur char areas suffering from paralysing cold

RANGPUR, Jan 3: The people of different char areas in Rangpur district are in serious trouble as bone chilling cold has paralysed their normal life.
The extreme poor people especially the low income groups are the worst sufferers as their income decreased drastically due to lack of work.  Consequently they are passing days in acute misery and starvation.
The poor people living in different river basin areas of the region are in untold suffering owing to lack of warm clothes and as a result many of them are not able to   go out for work during shivering cold.
Elderly people and children are the worst victims of the intense cold. They are now crying for the help from the government and non-government organisations.  
Bachchu , a farmer at Char Mahipur under Gangachara upazila said, the farm labourers find it difficult to  join their works before 9  am and they have to go back home before 5 pm on account of severe cold as most of them have no warm  clothes.    
Zafar Miah  (65), an elderly man  of  Char Nazirdaho village in Kawnia upazila said, severe cold has disrupted  the life of the poor like him. He has no warm cloths so he cannot stand the intensity of cold.  Moreover, he is yet to get any warm cloths from neither the government nor any non- government organisation. "If the situation continues for long poor like it we will have to die ," he lamented.
Akmal ,a farm labourer at Char Monneya village under Kawnia upazila said that he earns Tk 130 to Tk 180 per day which is not enough to maintain his 5 member family. So, he has no extra money to purchase winter clothes. As a result, it has become so difficult for him to go out for works early in the morning on account of chilling cold. Poor people like him living at char areas are bearing the brunt of the intensity of cold, he added.         
According to District Relief and Rehabilitation Office sources distribution of warm clothes is going on in full swing among the cold affected char people in the district.    Emergency message has also been sent to the concerned ministry for more allotment.
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Child safety stressed
A BSS report says: Research-based development organisation Incidin Bangladesh has stressed for effective initiatives of the local government bodies on safety, security and rights of the children to save them from repression.
The call was made at a press conference arranged by the organisation here on Wednesday afternoon to disclose research findings on vulnerability, safety and security of the children and repression and torture being experienced by them in the society.