Mintu Deshwara

While tourism related businesses in Kuakata of Patuakhali are expecting an onrush of travellers amid the ongoing Eid holiday, those in Sreemangal upazila of Moulvibazar have been left disappointed by the low number of advance bookings.

Weavers of traditional Monipuri-style clothing in greater Sylhet passed busy days ahead of the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr as sales and prices have been good amid the ongoing festive season, which contributes most of their annual earnings.

When it rains a little, almost all the roads in Moulvibazar’s Kulaura Municipality get flooded. On top of that, the road towards the railway station through Dakshinbazar gets inundated, causing locals to suffer.

The Gogalichara canal in Kulaura municipality of Moulvibazar, the only means to drain water, has been a victim of filling and encroachment for many years. As a result, even a little rain causes waterlogging on the roads in the area, creating public nuisance.

Boats are the only means of transportation for people of several villages in Kauadighi Haor, one of the largest haors of Moulvibazar, during monsoon. But, due to the construction of an unplanned box culvert, people of at least 30 villages in the haor, under Sadar and Rajnagar upazilas, are facing untold suffering and damage to their crops.

The Sutang river, which was a blessing of nature for the people surrounding it, has now become a curse due to extreme pollution.

Cassava, known as shimul alu in Bangladesh, is a root vegetable widely consumed in many countries across the globe for its dietary benefits, which include healthy carbohydrates and vitamin C.

Abdus Salek, a 62-year-old resident of Habiganj town’s Khowai Mukh area, used to spend his childhood fishing in the Khowai river. However, he no longer visits its banks as it has now turned into a dumping ground for household and commercial waste.

In the heart of the green Fulchhara tea garden, the air was filled with a riot of colours and joy as thousands of tea workers gathered to celebrate the Fagua festival yesterday. It was a rare moment of respite from their otherwise arduous and monotonous lives.

All trains running through the Lawachara National Park in Moulvibazar have been instructed to run at a maximum speed of 20 kilometres per hour to ensure the safety of the wildlife in the area.

The tea workers demanded Tk 30,000 in arrears for 20 months in line with the hiked wages that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina asked tea garden owners to pay in August last year

The year was 1971. Odoitto Sen Odhikary was just a tenth-grader preparing for his board exams.

Moulvibazar district has one of the largest Manipuri communities in the country. While everyone in the community can speak Manipuri, the language’s script and alphabet were at risk of extinction.

There was a time when the Jujnal river used to be the lifeline of Habiganj. Boats used to ply the river with goods and passengers, facilitating agriculture, trade and communication simultaneously.

Tea garden workers in the country’s northeastern region are at high risk of developing leprosy due to their unhygienic living conditions, malnutrition and lack of awareness.

A tea estate in Habiganj has completely cleared their leased land by setting it ablaze and cutting down the trees, much to the dismay of environmentalists and wildlife activists.

A total of six bridges built on Fanai river, flowing through the southern part of Moulvibazar’s Kulaura upazila, have either collapsed or partially broken down allegedly due to unplanned dredging of the river.

Cutting, selling and using topsoil from cropland for different purposes is going on unabated at many places in Habiganj’s Nabiganj upazila, defying laws.

Hatimara Tea Garden took lease of a land near Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary in Habiganj’s Chunarughat upazila some years ago. The place was a safe habitat for wildlife and hosted century-old trees... up until January 19, 2023.

The state-owned National Tea Company took the lease of Moulvibazar’s Kurma Chonkhul area a long time ago. The place, surrounded by trees and bushes, serves as the sole breeding ground for the rare Golden Headed Cisticola, locally known as “Munia” in Bangladesh, and many other endangered species.