special
Bridge amid crop field in Thakurgaon now a ‘selfie zone’
A bridge built over a canal amid a paddy field at Boro Palashbari Gariyali village in Baliadangi upazila of Thakurgaon district has been lying unused since its construction four years back for lack of connecting roads.
However, fascinated by the beauty of the bridge amid the green filed, many people have started hanging out there taking selfies with it. Some people have even named it Selfie Bridge.
Read: 10 thousand people in Brahmanbaria dependent on a tottering bridge
The bridge was constructed in 2016-17 under the bridge and culvert construction project of the Disaster Management Department at a cost of Tk 40 lakh.
All illegal occupants over city canals to be evicted: Minister
All the illegal occupants over each canal in the capital city will be evicted within the tenure of this government to save people from waterlogging.
“Necessary action will be taken as per the law, no matter how powerful the occupiers are…projects will be taken to save the canals,” Minister of Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) Muhammad Tajul Islam told UNB.
READ:13 illegally occupied canals to be recovered: DNCC Mayor
The minister believes if the canals are freed up, it would be possible to build multiple Hatirjheel-like large canal projects in the city. Walkways could be built on both sides of the canals.
Large establishments have been built over the canals by the occupiers making fake documents and papers. Both the north and the south city corporations have taken over the control of the canals from WASA and renovation works have already begun, he said.
The minister added that 170 acres of canal areas, out of 173 acres, in Kalyanpur have been encroached. All the establishments in the canal areas, including that of Kalyanpur, will be evicted soon.
According to the Dhaka Deputy Commissioner’s record, there are 50 canals, locally called Khal, in the Dhaka metropolitan areas.
The large canals include Baishteki in North Senpara; Sanbadik khal in North Senpara Parbata; Digun khal in Goran Chatbari of Mirpur; Gabtali Khal that flows to the Turag River; Rupnagar Khal in Arambagh; Kalyanpur Khal, Kalyanpur main and Kalyanpur partial in Kalyanpur area; Bawnia Khal and Diabari Khal in Uttara.
Besides there are small canals like Abdullahpur Khal in Bailjuli Ranavola mouza; Ramchandra Khal in Ramchandrapur mouza; Katasur khal in Katasur mouza; Rajabazar Khal in Rajabazar mouza; Begunbari Khal in Boro Maghbazar mouza; Mohakhali Khal in Tejgaon industrial mouza; Meradia-Gazaria Khal in Ulun Meradia mouza; Gullar Khal in Baddar North Meradia mouza; Gulshan lake in Gulshan residential area mouza; Bhatara Khal and Sutivhola Khal of Bhatara mouza; Dumni Khal of Dumni mouza; Talna Khal of Talna mouza; Baothat Khal in Baothat mouza; Amaiya Khal in Gobindpur mouza; Nirnichak Khal in Nirnichak mouza; Bhaturia Khal in Bhaturia mouza; Small Palasia Khal in the small Palasia mouza; Palashia canal in Palasia mouza, and Chamurkhan Khal in Chamurkhan mouza.
Growing vegetable export revives Cumilla farmers’ hopes
The vegetable growers of Cumilla had always worried about their produce for lack of marketing and storage facilities, but now there has been a surprising reverse in their fate.
It all began with when they started exporting vegetables to the Middle East and Europe with the help of a government marketing centre.
Huge vegetables are now exported from Nimsar Bazar in Cumilla, the largest wholesale vegetable market of the country, said farmers.
Read: Railway launches luggage van to transport vegetables
These vegetables are collected from 400 marginal farmers who formed 20 associations with the help of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE).
The export volume of the chemical-free vegetables keeps rising, bringing back smiles to the farmers’ faces.
According to the Agricultural Products Procurement and Marketing Centre located at Nimsar Bazar, seven tonnes of vegetables are exported from the district every month on average while it goes up to 10 tonnes during winter.
Vegetables like arum lobe, bottle gourd, pumpkin, cucumber, snake bean, bitter gourd, luffa gourd, malabar spinach, red spinach and eggplant are exported to the Middle East and European countries.
Sajeeb Molla, an official at Agricultural Products Procurement and Marketing Centre, Cumilla said 4,620 kgs of arum lobe were exported to the UK and Italy, 1,015 kgs of bottle gourd to Italy, 220 kgs of cucumber to the UK, 220 kgs of pumpkin to Italy in September.
According to the DAE, some 21,090 hectares of land were brought under vegetable cultivation and some 4,72,374 metric tonnes of vegetables have been produced in the district this year.
Only 1.5 lakh metric tonnes of vegetables are needed for the district to meet the local demand while several hundred tonnes of vegetables are supplied to Dhaka, Chattogram, Noakhali, Feni, Laxmipur and Chandpur districts, said DAE officials.
Read: Kurigram farmers turning to vegetable cultivation
Bangladesh to formulate integrated energy-power sector master plan with focus on 3E+S concept
Responding to the suggestions of energy experts, Bangladesh is finally moving towards formulating an integrated energy and power sector master plan with a focus on the "3E+S" concept.
“We’ll pursue the "3E+S" concept of ensuring "Energy Security," "Economic Efficiency," and "Environment" while focusing on "Safety," said the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in an official statement, adding, “In view of the need for a long-term low-carbon energy policy, we will support the formulation of the integrated energy and power master plan.”
Read: Bangladesh to extend deal with India on power import
According to official sources, Tokyo-based consulting firm Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ), has started work following an agreement the Bangladesh government signed with JICA on March 15 this year in this regard.
Official sources said JICA will complete the formulation of the integrated energy and power master plan by December 2022 under a completion contract of a timeframe of 30 months.
JICA has been funding the entire project through its grant under a deal with the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources (MPEMR).
It had provided financial and technical support for formulating all the previous power system master plans (PSMPs) until 2016.
According to official sources at the MPEMR, for decades, Bangladesh had prepared two separate master plans—one for the energy sector and another for power sector—where there had been many missing links and lack of coordination resulting in imbalance between the energy and power sector’s growth.
“But for the first time, we’re going to formulate an integrated master plan putting equal emphasis on development of both the sectors in order to support the current robust economic growth,” said Mohammad Hossain, Director General of Power Cell.
In the context of imbalanced growth in power and energy sectors in the last one and a half decades, the country’s energy experts have long been urging the government to formulate an integrated plan to bring coordination among the two.
In the last 12-13 years, the country’s power sector witnessed a robust growth with increased power generation from 4,500 MW to 21,000 MW while growth in the energy sector remained non-significant as a new discovery was not made for gas exploration nor low cost primary fuel was ensured.
Officials said Bangladesh has to now import a significant amount of primary fuel—specially, liquid petroleum, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal—to meet the demand of the power and industry sector.
Read: Hydropower projects in Nepal: Bangladesh’s investment decision after survey
Experts call for wildlife census in Sunderbans to halt extinction crisis
Environmental experts have stressed the need for a wildlife census to enumerate the wild animals in the Sundarbans that are threatened by climate change, poaching and habitat loss.
There has long been no count of wild animals in the world's largest mangrove forest, which is spread across an area of 6,017 sq km of which 4,832 sq km is forested and the remaining marshy tracts.
The 2015 tiger census recorded a Royal Bengal tiger population of just 106 in the Bangladeshi Sundarbans, which rose to 114 in 2018.
Similarly, a survey in 2017 put the number of crocodiles in the Sunderbans between 150 and 205.
READ: Sundarbans tourism: Now focus on automation to improve services
However, the census also pointed out that the crocodiles are at the risk of extinction due to seven reasons, including deaths of baby crocodiles in fishing nets, movement of water vessels in the Pashur river, and dumping of industrial waste in the river.
Prof Abdullah Harun Chowdhury of the environmental science department at Khulna University, said, “The forest department should conduct a wildlife census periodically to enumerate wild animals like wild buffaloes, crocodiles, tigers and leopards in the Sunderbans."
The census can also help the Bangladesh government in adopting a proper wildlife management system in the Sundarbans, he said.
Hawladar Azad, officer-in-charge of Karamjal Wildlife Breeding Centre in East Sundarbans, said the authorities conducted a wildlife census of deer, monkeys, otters and bhodors in 1997.
According to the 1997 census, there were one to 1.5 lakh deer, 40-50 thousand monkeys, 20-25 thousand pigs and 20-25 thousand otters.
However, there has been no census of water monitors, pythons, turtle, birds and other animals to date.
Dr Sheikh Faridul Islam, chairman of Save the Sundarbans Foundation, said, “We must find out the actual number of wildlife animals inhabiting the Sunderbans. The forest department should take necessary steps in this regard."
The number of wildlife animals could also fall due to the movement of tourists and vessels in rivers inside the Sundarbans, he said.
READ: 44 held for illegal fishing in Sundarbans
Mihir Kumar Do, Forest Conservator (Khulna circle), said that they do carry out "smart patrolling" using GPS for protecting the wildlife in the Sunderbans.
Experts seek winter plan to fight Dhaka’s air pollution
Authorities need to work out a special action plan to control Dhaka’s terrible dust pollution as it turns worse in every winter, particularly from November to February, posing a serious health hazard to city dwellers, said environmental experts.
With the advent of winter, the city’s air quality starts deteriorating sharply due to the massive discharge of pollutant particles from construction works, rundown roads, brick kilns and other sources, they said.
To control the dust pollution, the experts suggested sweeping the city’s roads with water regularly, covering construction sites and materials, and stopping the movement of overloaded and unfit motor vehicles in the city.
Ainun Nishat, Professor Emeritus at BRAC University, told UNB that dust particles from construction sites, earth filing and roads, black smoke from overloaded motor vehicles and traditional brick kilns located surrounding Dhaka are largely responsible for making the city’s air quality in winter even worse.
He said brick kilns remain in operation in the winter season, badly polluting the city’s air with the discharge of thick black smoke. “So, the brick kilns should be modernised as soon as possible,” he added.
City roads in the developed countries are regularly washed with river water to control air pollution, Prof Nishat said, adding that the Dhaka roads should also be swept with water every day, especially during the dry season.
“Dust pollution is there in almost every country and they’ve their own plans to minimize it. But we make no effort to control it in our country,” said Prof Nishat.
The environmental expert suggested covering construction sites, spraying water on construction materials, and checking overloaded motor vehicles, which are mainly responsible for emitting black smoke.
Read Lung cancer on the rise in Bangladesh: Report
Prioritize senior people in vaccination, not children: Experts
As the government is set to start vaccinating schoolchildren at the end of this month, experts have found it unrealistic since many elderly people still remain out of the Covid vaccination coverage.
Since the country does not have adequate vaccines in stock, they said, the government should first take an effective strategy to vaccinate most of the senior citizens as a top priority because this group is the most vulnerable to the virus infection and death due to their comorbidities and weakened immune systems.
The analysts said the government can launch a special vaccination drive targeting people aged over 60 and above before giving jabs to school students.
They also said schoolchildren, aged 12-17 years, should be given the jabs when there will be adequate vaccine stock in the country since maintaining health safety rules is now enough to keep them safe due to their strong immune protection.
30 lakh Pfizer vaccines for kids
The government has a plan to start inoculating the schoolchildren in Dhaka city from October 30.According to official data, there are more than one crore schoolchildren, aged 12-17 years, including around 6.15 lakh in the capital.
After vaccinating the schoolchildren in the capital, the government will continue the same campaign in other cities and districts gradually.
According to an official at the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), the government has a total of 30 lakh Pfizer jabs now in hand to vaccinate the children.
On October 14, 111schoolchildren were given Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine in Manikganj as part of a trial run.
Talking to UNB, DGHS spokesman Dr Robed Amin said it is necessary to vaccinate children as their schools have been reopened.
He said the virus may spread among the schoolchildren if they remain out of the vaccination coverage. ”If the kids get infected outside home, they can infect their family members, including the elderly ones. So, children’s vaccination is essential,” Robed noted.
He said they are going to vaccinate the schoolchildren with an aim to stop the source of a further outbreak of the virus.
Cumilla pottery: Heritage on the verge of extinction
For generations, many families in Muradnagar of Cumilla have pursued pottery as a profession.Pottery is basically the practice of making pots, dishes, and other articles of fired clay. One of the earliest human interventions, almost every region with a history of human settlement has its own history of pottery.
In the lands now comprising Bangladesh, the art of pottery is said to date back to Harappan times. But in terms of actual evidence, the excavation of Mahasthangarh turned up earthenware items dating back to 300 BC - almost two-and-a-half millennia old!
Also read: Cooling their way to solvency: Gaibandha villages earn their keep with hand fans
Today, most of the pottery villages are located in Dhamrai, just outside Dhaka. Cumilla too is not far behind.
Pots and pans, showpieces, sculptures, toys and many household decoratives made by Cumilla potters tend to be aesthetically pleasing. Merchants from Dhaka and other parts of the country visit Cumila to buy their items in bulk and sell them in the city markets. Although the pottery tradition has long roots in this part of the country, the profession is gradually heading towards becoming obsolete, with the onslaught of time and modernity.
Mosque and Temple at same yard: An epitome of religious harmony in Lalmonirhat
In this unique place fragrance of attar mingles with joss stick’s aroma.
It comes alive every day with chanting of dhikr (ritual prayer or litany practiced by Muslims) and ululation (a ritual for Hindus).
The unique co-existence of Puran Bazar Jame Mosque and Kalibari Central Temple in Kalibari area of the Lalmonirhat city presents a picture of religious harmony amid the growing religious insensitivity and intolerance across the globe.
This two institutions central to religious practice of Islam and Hinduism have completed yet another year of their iconic existence as the Hindu worshippers in the area just celebrated their biggest Durga puja festival in an environment of peace and harmony.
According to locals, in 1836 the Temple of Hindu goddess Kali was established in the area. In the meantime some traders travelling from different parts of the country built a makeshift house to perform their daily prayers at the Puran Bazar area, adjacent to the temple. With the passage of time, the house took the name as Puran Bazar Jame Mosque.
Since then the two religious institutions have been the tradition of a euphony which is quite rare in this part of the globe.
Every year before Durga puja, mosque and temple executive committees hold a meeting to schedule their daily programmes.
Read: No tolerance for communal attacks: Quader
Littering threatens haor environment in Kishoreganj as tourists swell
The all-weather Itna-Mithamoin-Austragram road is attracting growing number of tourists to the Haor, now a popular tourist destination.
It has also become a source of widespread littering by visitors who are mindlessly polluting the beautiful water body.
The vast expanse of water, which has turned into a hotspot for the enthusiasts, mainly the young people to spend quality time with friends and family members, has now been witnessing huge non-biodegradable waste thanks to lack of awareness among the visitors.
During recent visits to the now-famous haor road, it was found that the visitors coming to enjoy the splendour of the spot were least bothered to protect the beauty and bio-diversity of the Haor.
The types of littering the haor-road face include dropping of plastic and other bottles, cans, cigarette butts, cigarette packets, papers, paper bags, waste from different food items, coconut shells, and tissue papers, as the visitors dump those here and there without considering any consequence.
Though now littering has become a big threat for this wonderful tourist spot due to the rush of travellers, no effective initiative to stop it is visible.
Talking to UNB, some visitors said careless littering is harming the environment besides undermining the beauty and biodiversity.
Terming the Haor wetland as a sensitive zone, a regular traveller and broadcast Journalist Shakil Hasan said, “Haor is the home of different species of fish, aquatic animals, and herbs. Besides, aquatic animals and fish of haor eat these as their food. The environment of the haor is being ruined due to the indiscriminate dumping of garbage by the increasing number of insensible tourists. The food cycle of fish and aquatic animals is being disrupted too.”
Besides, the pollution of water and the environment of the haor has created a shortage of food for the birds. The arrival of guest birds is decreasing day by day due to pollution and reckless movement of tourists, he also said.
The tourist stressed controlling the pollution and limiting the movement of the tourists in order to keep the environment of haor healthy.
He also urged the government to take initiatives to ensure stopping the littering and advised tourists to be seriously aware of this issue.
READ: Tourist’s body recovered from Nikli Haor, another goes missing
Another visitor Nasimul Hasan said initiatives should be made to ensure proper monitoring and management issues to take care of the important project which is related to biodiversity.
Local fishermen told UNB that they are receiving more garbage after the opening of the road as tourists dump them in the water ignoring the adverse environmental impact.
Sharing some photos on littering on his Facebook profile Rezwan Ahmed Tawfiq, member of Parliament of Kishoreganj 4 constituency consisting of haor Upazilla- Itna, Mithamoin and Austragram, said that the massive development work being done under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, following the path of Bangabandhu's dream, has also stirred up the haor in this remote area. Nikli, Itna, Mithmoin, Austragram have become one of the tourist hotspots in Bangladesh which are receiving thousands of visitors coming from different parts of the country every day.
Saying haor as the beautiful part of Bangladesh, the national treasure and everyone's pride,’ Rezwan Ahmed said that it is the national duty of all to maintain this invaluable resource and beauty of haor, conserve the aquatic natural environment, biodiversity and vitality of the haor. Therefore, the haor should be kept clean and free from any kind of pollution and environmentally harmful activities.
“If any dirt, garbage, waste material, especially plastic bottles, sticks, packets, polythene or utensils are left scattered in the haor water, it will cause a serious disaster. This will reduce the fertility of the land as well as disrupt the flow of water and hinder the development of fish breeding and plant resources,” he said.
Rezwan Ahmed, the son of President Abdul Hamid, said that the environment department has already warned against dumping hundreds of bottles, packets, and polythene in the haor. Strict laws should be enforced to protect the area from such environmental damages.
He urged the tourists to take utmost care in maintaining the balance of the environment and keep the national wealth, haor clean and natural through sensible practice and behaviour.
"We want a pollution-free fresh environment. So, we have to stand against pollution and take a vow to protect the haor,” he added.
Local administrations informed that the government is also formulating rules for punishing those who will dump wastes here and there on the site instead of dumping those in the designated installed bins.
Travel bloggers and thrill-seekers, or just normal people who like nothing better than to drive out of town, have their latest craze to travel to the north and towards Kishoreganj.
All of them seem to return with one message to deliver above all else: they have seen one of ‘the most beautiful roads in Bangladesh!’
While tourism is bound to generate extra incomes for the locals serving the industry directly or as ancillaries (e.g. boatmen said they are struggling to keep up with the number of tourists already), it does bring with it the danger of overexploitation of the natural bounties. The haor as an ecosystem may be even more vulnerable.
Almost half of Kishoreganj district, including four of its 6 upazilas - Itna, Mithamoin, Oshtogram, and Nikli - is designated as a completely haor area: unique wetland ecosystems that during the monsoon resemble vast inland seas.
The almost 30-km Itna-Mithamoin-Austagram highway, which connects these 3 upazilas of Kishoreganj by going straight through the haor, can be seen as part of that push, although work on the Tk 514-crore project was inaugurated in 2016 by President Abdul Hamid - the district’s most famous son.
The Roads and Highways Department implemented the project that includes the 29-km main highway, 7 box-culverts, and 7 RCC bridges, plus the three big bridges.