Dwoha Chowdhury

The tourism sector of Bangladesh has been hit hard by the 2024 national elections, unfavourable weather, recurring floods and anti-discrimination movement in the current year compared to last year, as people are unwilling to travel for fear of violence.

With water levels receding, hundreds of people in Sylhet are returning to their homes from shelter centres. Many have begun rebuilding their damaged houses.

As soon as the second wave of flash floods hit Sylhet in the early hours of June 17, Moklisur Rahman, a fish farmer in Gowainghat upazila, knew he was going to lose all his fish, which he had worked very hard to raise in his three ponds.

With the waters receding in some areas, the flood situation in the Sylhet region started showing signs of improvement yesterday.

The flood situation in Sylhet has been deteriorating fast with the rivers inundating vast tracts of land and upending the lives of millions.

Eid has not brought joy to many in the Sylhet region as homes of more than 1.6 million people were flooded and nearly 30,000 had to move to shelter centres.

A recent research paper has identified single-day extreme rainfall events as the primary cause of recurring flash floods and waterlogging in the Sylhet region. The study found that climate change has significantly increased the frequency of these heavy monsoon rains in Bangladesh and northeast India.

More than five lakh people in Sylhet remain marooned as flash floods hit five upazilas. The floods were triggered by heavy rains in the border areas of the district and India’s Meghalaya.

The ageing mother of slain blog writer Ananta Bijoy Das, who was killed by Islamist militants nine years ago, is still waiting for closure.

Farmers in Sunamganj are passing busy days harvesting Boro paddy, which is their staple crop.

The death of Babul Islam, a stone and sand trader of Sylhet’s Companiganj, is still shrouded in mystery.

During the holy month of Ramadan, there’s one dish that tops everyone’s list in Sylhet: Akhni. This dish made of fragrant rice and meat is a popular choice for iftar meals and family gatherings, offering a delightful alternative to biryani with its unique taste and texture.

Farmers in the haor (wetland) areas under Sunamganj district have alleged that the government has failed to complete the construction and repair works of dykes for protecting croplands on time.

In 1892, Rai Bahadur Raja Girish Chandra Roy established Sylhet’s first college in Bandarbazar area and named it after his maternal grandfather Murari Chand Roy, a zamindar of Sylhet.

Two-year-old Nusrat Jannat was born with a cleft lip. Her father Monir Miah, a car driver, could not afford to arrange for reconstructive surgery on her lips.

“Dolu” bamboo, newly harvested Binni rice, banana leaves and straw.

The iconic Tanguar Haor, one of Bangladesh’s most important ecologically critical areas, is facing an uncertain future amid growing environmental threats.

Awami League candidates in four of the six constituencies of Sylhet district are likely to face tough contests from their opponents in the upcoming national polls slated for January 7.

BNP is facing an uphill battle in different parts of the country in maintaining its existence on the streets due to mass arrests.

Farmers in Sunamganj are worried that the construction and repair works of haor protection dykes are far behind schedule, putting their harvest of Boro paddy at risk.