A fire has burnt a farmer’s cattle shed to ashes along with two of his cows. The fire broke out at around 1am on Sunday night at Taluk Belka village in Belka union of the upazila.
The farmer who suffered the loss, Angur Mia, 35, is the son of the late Taslim Uddin of that village. Angur had lit a mosquito coil in the cattle shed at night to drive away mosquitoes.
The affected farmer’s family and local sources said the family lit a coil in the cattle shed in the evening to drive away mosquitoes, as they did every day. At around 1am the household was suddenly woken by the sound of fire. Neighbours came forward to try to put the fire out when members of the farmer’s family cried for help. The fire was eventually brought under control, but by then two of the five cows in the shed had burnt to death. Three other cows were partially burnt. The two dead cows were improved cross-breed animals developed from local stock.
Saju Mia, a neighbour who helped put out the fire that night, said: “We were woken suddenly in the night by shouting. Then we saw Angur Mia’s cattle shed burning. The neighbours got together and tried to put the fire out. But although the fire went out, two cows died and three were injured. Those cows were the family’s only means.”
Angur Mia, the farmer who suffered the loss, said: “I light a coil every day, but I don’t know how it happened last night. Those cows were all I had.” He said the fire had cost him more than three lakh taka.
Md Ibrahim Khalilullah, chairman of Belka union council, told Dhaka Post that a cattle shed belonging to a man named Angur Mia on the char had burnt, along with his cows. He said the upazila administration would be informed and the necessary assistance provided.