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Many of the indigenous people living in the border areas of Netrakona often fall victim to waterborne and intestinal diseases by drinking impure water of fountains.
   Local sources said the indigenous people, who live at the border belt under Kalmakanda and Durgapur upazilas of this district, have no access to pure drinking water. As the ground water level is too deep in the hilly areas of these two upazilas, it is very difficult to install tube well and dig pond for drinking water. The indigenous people living in the border belt are used to drink water of fountains that roll down from upstream across the border.
   But the fountain water is not suitable for drinking and as such people often suffer from waterborne diseases after drinking water from this source, according to the sources.
   Samarash Hajong,an inhabitant of Kalmakanda, said at the time of the last union council election the candidates for the posts of chairman and member held out the assurance of solving the problem of potable water of the indigenous people living in the border areas of the two upazilas. But after the UP election was over ,none came forward to fulfil their election pledge, he noted.
   Some indigenous people told New Age that they also approached in vain several local non-government organisations to do something positive for solving the problem of pure drinking water.
   They suggested that the government should take measures to install deep wells in the plain lands and supply water to the hilly areas through pipelines.

The residents of Moulvibazar and Srimangal towns have demanded of the government to construct a road to link the two towns with the newly constructed Sylhet-Dhaka highway.
   Talking to New Age, some residents of Moulvibazar district town said instead of giving any benefit the new Sylhet-Dhaka highway has only compounded their communication problems.
   Elaborating, they pointed out that while the old Sylhet-Dhaka highway passed through Moulvibazar and Srimangal towns,the new highway is about 25 kilometers away from the district town. A large number of people including businessmen of Moulvibazar town have to come all the way to Sherpur point to board the inter-city buses bound for Dhaka and other destinations.
   Similarly, the Moulvibazar bound bus passengers from Dhaka and other places have to get down at Sherpur and from there they have to avail themselves of the local buses to come to Moulvibazar, they added.
   The further said that the bus journey between Sherpur point and Moulvibazar town particularly after dusk is always fraught with many dangers.
   The ordeals of the businessmen who always carry handsome amount of money as well as goods and the people, who move with the family members consisting of women and children, are many, they noted.
   Moreover, the long distance of the new highway from Moulvibazar and Srimangal
   has increased the transport cost of the commuters and the businessmen of the two towns, according to them.
   All sections of people of Moulvibazar and Srimangal have called for expanding the old Sylhet-Dhaka highway and constructing link roads to connect the two towns with the new highway.

A middle-aged man was killed and 70 people were injured in a series of inter-village clashes under Raipura upazila in Narsingdi on Tuesday and Wednesday.
   The police and locals said early Tuesday the inhabitants of village Darigaon and neighboring village Gopinathpur were locked into a fierce clash in their bid to establish respective supremacy.
   Marfat Ali led the villagers of Gopinathpur while Jasim Uddin headed the villagers of Darigaon during the clashes.
   Both the groups armed with locally made harpoons were engaged in the fighting in a field .Many people gathered around the area to observe the savagery, said an eyewitness.
   The mayhem in the backwater area continued till 1:00pm, leaving at least 30 wounded on both sides.
   On Tuesday midnight, the villagers again were locked into a clash that left Ohid Mia, 40, of Gopinathpur village dead and some 10 people injured seriously.
   As the death news of Ohid Mia spread fast, Gopinathpur villagers attacked Darigaon villagers on Wednesday morning with harpoon ensuing a bloody clash that left 30 people injured.
   Twenty of the injured were admitted to the sadar hospital.
   Raipura police station officer-in-charge Farid Ahmed said policemen were sent to the spot in the remote area.
   It takes 4-5 hours to reach the spot, he added.
   They said clashes between rival groups are a regular feature in the hard-to-reach char areas of the district.

Two persons were killed in two separate accidents on the Dhaka-Khulna Highway under Kashiani upazila in Gopalganj Tuesday.
   The police said a microbus dashed a loaded rickshaw-van from opposite side at village Pona on Dhaka-Khulna Highway killing the rickshaw-van driver Bala Mollah, 30, on the spot on Tuesday midnight.
   On Tuesday noon, Ibarhim Ali Khan, son of Mokles Ali Khan of village Shibgati under Kashiani upazila, was killed when truck hit him from the back while he was crossing the highway near the Shibgati bus stand.

A housewife committed suicide by hanging herself from a tree near her residence in Meherpur town on Sunday.
   The deceased was identified as Taslima Khatun, 29, wife of one Mohammed Mohi, a resident of post office para under Meherpur Municipality.