With the Biswa Ijtema just a day away, devotees from Dhaka and its adjacent districts have started pouring into the Ijtema ground in Tongi. This picture taken yesterday near the capital’s Basila bridge shows a boat carrying devotees in the Turag river. The first phase of the Ijtema will be held on January 13-15. Photo: Rashed Shumon

An elderly couple seeks warmth from a fire they lit using straws and hay in Salapak village of Rangpur’s Gangachara upazila. With the cold ripping through the northern districts, people from low-income families usually turn to fire to stay warm yesterday. However, this has already caused major accidents in at least eight districts, as many people have had to suffer serious burns. Two women have recently succumbed to such injuries in Rangpur Medical College Hospital. PHOTO: KONGKON KARMAKER

A pickup truck driver on his mobile phone while driving in the capital’s Shewrapara, completely oblivious to the danger he is posing to himself, other vehicles and pedestrians. Though the Road Transport Act-2018 made it a punishable offence, this kind of irresponsible behaviour goes unabated as the authorities concerned hardly take action. According to the law, the punishment for using mobile phones while driving is maximum one month of imprisonment or a fine of Tk 5,000 or both. The photo was taken yesterday. PHOTO: PRABIR DAS