An intense cold wave sweeping across Jamalpur for the past several days has severely disrupted normal life, leaving low-income peeople and day labourers in acute distress.
Thick fog combined with icy winds has kept the sun out of sight for most of the day, sharply increasing the severity of the cold. Streets remain unusually quiet as residents avoid going outdoors, while daily wage earners are struggling to find work, pushing household incomes to the brink.
Children, the elderly and the physically vulnerable are the worst affected. Health officials report a steady rise in patients suffering from cold-related ailments. Islampur Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer Dr A M A Abu Taher said cases of skin infections, diarrhoea and respiratory complications linked to the cold have increased, adding that hospitals are fully prepared to provide necessary treatment.
Jamalpur, a riverine district crisscrossed by the Jamuna and Brahmaputra rivers, is home to vast char areas where poverty is widespread. Thousands of residents in these remote areas are facing extreme hardship due to unemployment and a severe shortage of warm clothing.
In an attempt to keep warm, many people are seen lighting makeshift fires using straw and firewood along roadsides and in open spaces. With work opportunities shrinking due to the cold, earnings of day labourers have virtually come to a halt.
Local residents have called for the urgent distribution of winter clothing and emergency relief, warning that delays could further deepen the suffering of the district’s most vulnerable people.
