Chattogram shivered through a bitterly cold night as dense fog blanketed the city and temperatures dipped to 16 degrees Celsius in some areas of the port city. While most residents stayed indoors wrapped in warm blankets, hundreds of people living on footpaths, near railway stations, at the foothills of DC Hill, and in open spaces had no shelter from the cold.
It was supposed to be a night of rest for Chattogram’s newly appointed Deputy Commissioner, Mohammad Zahidul Islam Mian. After a long day of administrative and election-related duties, another busy workday awaited him at dawn. But the stillness of the freezing night brought to mind the city’s most vulnerable—those who would struggle to sleep without even a single blanket.
The thought quickly turned into action.
From his residence, the DC directed officials to immediately arrange winter clothing. Within hours, the district administration mobilised.
On Sunday night (December 28), Mohammad Zahidul Islam Mian—widely known as the “Humanitarian DC”—personally joined the relief effort, moving through different parts of the city to distribute blankets among cold-stricken poor, and homeless people.
The winter relief drive ran from 11:00 pm to 1:00 am, covering areas including DC Hill, Kazir Dewri, CRB, the railway station, the Shilpakala Academy area, and Mehedibagh. In total, 500 blankets were distributed in a single night.
At Mehedibagh and Kazir Dewri, a quiet moment stood out. On a footpath under the open sky, two street children were trembling in the biting cold beside their family. The DC gently embraced them—an act that offered warmth beyond the blankets.
For many who witnessed the district’s top administrator distributing relief with his own hands, the scene was deeply moving. Some watched in disbelief; others wiped away tears of gratitude. Along with protection from the cold, they received something more enduring—the reassurance that they had not been forgotten.
Senior officials of the district administration, including additional deputy commissioners and district relief officials, were present throughout the programme.
This single night of compassion did more than ease the cold. It restored faith among the city’s most marginalised—proof that even on the coldest nights, humanity can still prevail.
