Two teachers died possibly from ‘heat stroke’ in Chattogram and Jashore districts on Sunday morning while a butcher as sever heat wave is scorching the country.
Besides, a butcher died in the capital’s Jatrabari and 18 students fell in sick in Noakhali district due to sever heatwave.
In Chattogram, madasha teacher Maulana Md. Mostak Ahmed Kutubi Alkaderi, 55, fell unconscious while going to his workplacefrom his home in the Mohra area of Chandgaon.
Kutubi Alkaderi, son of late Khalilur Rahman of Kutubdia Lemshikhali in Cox’s Bazar district and father of two sons and one daughter, used to work at Khitapchar Azizia Mabudia Alim Madrasha in Boalkhali upazila of Chattogram.
Witnesses said when the madrasha teacher boarded the ferry at Kalurghat around 9am suddenly he collapsed.
Later, he was taken to Chattogram Medical College Hospital (CMCH) where doctors declared him dead.
In Jashore, Ahsan Habib, an assistant teacher of Ahmedabad High School, died from apparent heat stroke on Sunday in sadar upazila.
AZM Parvez Masud, headmaster of the school, said Habib fell sick around 9 am when he went to school after working in a field.
Later, he was taken to Jashore General Hospital, where a doctor declared him dead.
The body was kept at Jashore General Hospital morgue for autopsy, said Abdur Razzak, officer-in-charge of Jashore Kotwali Police
Station. The reason behind the death will be known after autopsy, he said.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) on Sunday issues country-wide third phase heat wave alert message for 72 more hours.
In the latest heat wave alert Meteorologist Khandoker Hafizur Rahman said “the prevailing heat wave over the country may continue during next72hours commencing on Sunday”, adding “the heat wave likely to continue till Tuesday morning.”
Due to increase moisture incursion, the discomfort may increase, said the message in details.
In capital city Dhaka, 55-year-old Mohammad Selim fell in sick and died while was on way to his shop at Karwanbazar by a CNG-run auto-rickshaw on Sunday afternoon.
Auto-rickshaw driver Md Rubel said, butcher Selim, who was a resident of Bibirbagicha area, fell in sick due to heatwave.
“Extreme heat” in Noakhali made 18 students sick in class
At least 18 students of two educational institutions under Hatia and Begumganj upazilas in Noakhali district fell in sick due to the ongoing severe heatwave.
According to sources, those 18 students of Joynarayanpur Islamia Fazil Madrasa in Amanullapur under Begumganj and Hatiya Janakallan Shikkah Trust High School under Hatia upazila fell in sick between 10:30 AM and 11:00 PM on Sunday.
Later, the teachers of the school and madrasa called the local doctors and sent the students home with first aid.
Hatiya Janakallan Shikkah Trust High School assistant teacher Fatima Israt reported that the school’s sixth–tenth grade academic programme began at approximately ten in the morning. Following that, illnesses among students in various classes began. There was a time when the heat made eleven students from class VI, two from class VIII, two from class IX, and two from class X sick.
Additionally, according to teacher Fatima Israt, some of the students are experiencing headaches, eye pain, and stomach pain. One pupil started throwing up at this point. The teacher alerted the students to the situation as soon as she saw how they were. She made a call to the village doctor and sent first aid supplies home with every student.
On the other hand, the classes were scheduled to start from 10:30 am at Jaynarayanpur Islamia Fazil Madrasa in Amanullapur Union, Begumganj. Everyone was waiting for the teacher in the classroom. At around 10 o’clock, a student named Afifa suddenly lost consciousness because she could not bear the heat.
After pouring water on her head, she regained consciousness. Then her father took her home. Afifa is a fourth-grade student at that madrasa and the daughter of teacher Delwar Hossain.
Madrasa assistant teacher Jamal Uddin said Afifa had fainted. We pour water on her head and send her home when she feels better. Apart from Afifa, several students were feeling sick. We have also given them leave.
District Education Officer Nooruddin Jahangir said that he has come to know about students getting sick due to heat at Hatya Jankalyan Trust High School. Apart from this, he has not received any news of any student being sick anywhere else.
Earlier, the BMD had issued 72 hours heat wave alert message in second phase on Thursday April 25.
On the other hand, classes at all primary, secondary schools and colleges resumed on Sunday after Eid-ul-Fitr holidays and subsequent extension due to heat wave sweeping the country since the first week of April.
The educational institutions reopened on Sunday although there is no remarkable change in the heat wave condition, worrying the guardians, especially those of primary level students.
UNB Khulna Correspondent reports, the guardians expressed worry how their children has to stay in classrooms for six hours amid scorching heat as the classes of secondary schools start at 10 am and continue till 4 pm.
Md Mashiur Rahman, a guardian said, “How will my child will stay in her class for a long time amid the sweltering heat? It would have been better if the government had extended the ongoing holidays.”
Hira Khatun, who was waiting near Govt. Laboratory High School, to pick her daughter, said “My child is a sixth grader and her class starts at 10 am and continue till 4 pm. The school authorities should take classes in the morning shift.”
Shahidul Islam Joarddar, headmaster of Muhsin Government Secondary School in Daulatpur, said the presence of students is 20-25 percent due to the heat wave.
Meanwhile, Sheikh Farhad Hossain, headmaster of Sighalia upazila Senhati Government High School, said he is satisfied with the 30 percent presence of students and they are running academic activities in two shifts.
Meanwhile, the government on Saturday announced the reopening of primary schools’ academic activities from Sunday.
School hours will be limited to the cooler morning hours, from 8:00 am to 11:30 am. For schools operating in two shifts, the first shift will run from 8:00 am to 9:30 am and the second from 9:45 am to 11:30 am.
Despite these changes, pre-primary level classes will remain closed until further notice, and daily school assemblies will remain suspended to avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.