As the day unfolded, the Khulna City Corporation (KCC) election witnessed a decline in voter turnout, with many polling centres looking deserted. Talking to presiding officers, UNB's Khulna correspondent reported that on average, 11 percent votes were cast as of 11 am. Also read: Khulna city polls: Jatiya Party's mayor candidate says agents barred from entering polling stations Shaheed Suhrawardy College centre under ward 25 witnessed a particularly low voter turnout with a voting rate of 9.02 percent. Ranjit Kumar Biswas, presiding officer of the centre, said only 135 votes had been cast by 11 am, despite a total of 1,493 registered voters. Similarly, under ward 18, the Darul Quran Siddiquia Kamil Madrasa centre also saw a low voter turnout with a rate of 10.25 percent. Mohammad Manik, presiding officer of the centre, said that out of 1,658 registered voters, a mere 170 had cast their votes by 11 am. In ward 19, the National High School centre reported an 11 percent voter turnout. Two presiding officers from ward 27 said that the PTI women's centre had witnessed a 7.02 percent polling rate, while the men's centre had recorded a 9 percent turnout by 11 am. Also Read: Barishal city polls: Voters being barred from coming to polling stations, say 2 mayoral candidates However, an exception was observed at the Khulna College centre, in ward 17. Out of 2,868 registered voters at that centre, 533 had cast their votes by 11 am, reflecting a polling rate of 18.58 percent. A total of five candidates are vying for the mayoral post in Khulna city, 134 for 31 general councillors, and 39 for 10 reserved female councillors' posts. Also Read: Khulna, Barishal city polls: Voting begins amid much enthusiasm, long queues of voters SM Khurshid Ahmed Tona in ward 13 and ZA Mahmud Don in ward 24 were elected unopposed. The total number of registered voters in Khulna City Corporation is 5,35,528.

Jatiya Party (Ershad)-backed mayoral candidate Md Shafiqul Islam Madhu has alleged that his agents are being barred from entering polling centres by supporters of Awami League (AL) candidate as Khulna City Corporation (KCC) election is underway. He made the allegation while talking to the media after casting his vote at the Collegiate School centere, under ward 17 in Sonadanga Residential Area of Khulna city, around 10:30 am. Also Read: Khulna, Barishal city polls: Voting begins amid much enthusiasm, long queues of voters Expressing doubts about a fair election, the Jatiya Party-backed candidate said that a fair election under the current government is not possible, UNB's Barishal correspondent reported from the spot. He said the process to vote was slow at the polling stations, and the environment was not festive. Asked about his next course of action, Md Shafiqul Islam said, “I will officially inform you (journalists) about my stance after visiting a few more centres." Voting in the KCC election began at 8 am and will continue till 4 pm without any break. Electronic voting machines are being used at all the centres to take votes. Also Read: Barishal city polls: Clash between AL, Islami Andolon supporters leaves several injured Five candidates are vying for the mayoral post, 136 for councillors in 29 general wards, and 30 for reserved seats. Awami League-backed candidate Talukder Abdul Khaleque cast his vote at Pioneer Secondary Girls School centre on the city’s South Central Road around 9:10 am. After voting, the mayoral candidate said the election is being held in a free, fair manner. Also Read: Barishal city polls: Voters being barred from coming to polling stations, say 2 mayoral candidates “I will accept whatever result coming from the voters,” he said, hoping that people will vote for him for continuation of the development. Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) are carrying out their duty to ensure security in the KCC election along with 8,080 members from police, Ansar and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).

Campaigning activities for the Khulna City Corporation (KCC) election are set to end on Saturday midnight. No candidates will be allowed to continue electioneering after midnight as the election to the Khulna City Corporation is scheduled to be held on Monday. Also read: Will ensure level playing field in KCC polls: CEC Campaigning for the Khulna City Corporation election started on May 26 with the allocation of election symbols.  The whole city has been wearing a festive look during the electioneering. Also read: KCC polls: Formal electioneering begins through allocation of symbols This year, five candidates are vying for mayoral posts, 136 for councillors in 29 general wards, and 30 for reserved seats. Two councillors for wards 13 and 24 have been elected unopposed.  A total of 5,35,528 people are scheduled to exercise their franchise in the 31 wards of Khulna city and there are 1,732 polling booths under 289 polling stations.      

All 161 polling stations under five wards of Khulna City Corporation (KCC) election, slated to be held on June 12, have been identified as vulnerable. According to the sources of Returning Officers and Khulna Metropolitan Police (KMP), there are 289 polling stations under 31 wards of Khulna city and to maintain law and order, the law enforcement agencies divided it into two segments—‘important’ and ‘general’. This year, the law enforcement agencies declared161 polling stations as ‘important’ while the rest 128 stations were identified as general. Also read: KCC Polls: 222 candidates -7 mayoral- collect nomination papers The polling stations of no 4, 6, 7, 10 and 28 wards of the city were identified as vulnerable while the polling stations under 16, 19 and 22 wards were declared as ‘important’. There are six polling stations under no 4 ward, nine at no 6 ward, 12 at no 10 ward, nine at no 28 ward, 10 at no 16 ward,7 at no 19 ward and 7 under 22 wards. Khulna Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Masudur Rahman Bhuiya, said the list of vulnerable polling stations has been prepared after keeping different issues in mind. Primarily, a decision has been taken to deploy seven policemen and 17 Ansar members to each polling station, declared as ‘important’ while seven policemen and 15 Ansar members in the polling stations declared as general. Besides, 3,567 police, 300 armed police, and 4,657 Ansar members will perform their duties in Khulna city to ensure a free and fair election.  

Every day, hundreds of kilograms of electronic waste or e-waste are collected in Khulna city but the city corporation does not have the capacity to manage this waste. As a result, health risks are increasing. Abandoned TVs, refrigerators, computers, laptops, cameras, air conditioners, microwaves, CFL lights, washing machines, mobile phones, DVD players, electronic toys, among others, are the main sources of e-waste, city officials said. When these items are discarded, they turn into “e-waste”. Even if the materials are destroyed, they do not decompose; they cause damage to the environment. According to Khulna City Corporation (KCC), about 1,000 tons of waste is produced in the city every day. Of this, KCC waste management department workers collect 800 tons and dump those at Rajbandh and Shalua dumping grounds. The remaining 200 tons of waste make their way into drains or canals. Read More: E-waste management should be safe and environmentally friendly: Nasrul Hamid KCC Chief Waste Management Officer Engr Md Abdul Aziz said the city produces close to one ton of e-waste every day. Like household waste, these too go into the dumping grounds. A large number of electrical equipment, including TV and computer parts, coming from the drain gather at the Rupsha Switch Gate area. Those are also collected and dumped at Rajbandh. Md Kabir has been involved in the scrap material business for about 15 years. He said earlier there were more TVs, electricity meters, batteries, water motors. In the last seven-eight years, the sale of different types of mobile phones and small motors has increased. “The products are removed, cleaned, and put up for sale. No one ever talked about using protective gear,” he said. Dulal buys products from houses in different areas of the city and sells them in Sheikhpara. He said many buy broken items and repair them. The rest is sold as scrap. Read More: E-Waste Crisis: Effects of Electronic Waste on Environment and Human Health “I burn wire and take out the copper, and throw out the rest. I’ve developed rashes in my hands while doing this work,” he said. Professor Dr Abdullah Harun Chowdhury, head of the Department of Environmental Sciences of Khulna University, said e-waste contains various types of toxic compounds including lead, cadmium, mercury. These are harmful to the environment and animals. In addition, mercury enters the environment and human body through various processes. It can damage the brain, reduce hearing and immunity. Lead from e-waste causes serious damage to the nervous system of newborns, he added. KCC Chief Waste Management Officer Md Abdul Aziz said a master plan on waste management at the city corporation is underway. Read More: Soaring e-waste affecting health of millions of children: WHO Besides, a modern waste treatment plant has been constructed in Shalua. All types of waste will be segregated and distributed there. Once the project is completed, e-waste will come under the purview of the project, he said.

Any project can be carried out with the right set of administrative skills.

Countless broken patches and damaged bitumen have made Mujgunni Highway in Khulna city unusable, causing unspeakable sufferings to thousands of commuters every day. The highway is one of the most important thoroughfares of the city as it connects Sonadanga Inter-district Bus Terminal and Natun Rastar Mor ther

Markets of Khulna are being overrun with national fish Hilsa caught from the Bay, since the lifting of a 65-day ban on fishing in the coastal waters was lifted on July 23 Not only the markets - the resulting glut in hilsa means the maach er raja (King of Fish) is even being sold in vans in the alleyways of Khulna at a cheap price.

The local administration has decided to put three areas in Khulna City Corporation and Rupsha upazila under lockdown from June 25 after an increase in the number of Covid-19 patients