S Dilip Roy

It was only a few months ago when Jahid Hasan Basunia first started cultivating strawberries, but none of his neighbours had the idea on how to grow the juicy fruit.

In nearly 3,000 stone-crushing plants surrounding Burimari and Sonahat land ports, thousands of women labour alongside men. They put in the same hours from 9:00am to 5:00pm daily. However, a pay disparity persists, as female workers receive Tk 400 while their male counterparts’ earn Tk 500 daily.

Bhutan plans to set up a special economic zone in Kurigram district in the northern region of Bangladesh.

The 100-kilometre-long Lalmonirhat-Burimari Highway has become highly dangerous for vehicular movement.

Farmers in Rangpur division are happy with high price for their potato harvest this season.

Although the cultivation of cotton is on rising as growers look to meet a portion of local demand and reduce dependence on imports, growers are unsatisfied with the low prices of the white fibre on the domestic market.

A troubling trend is taking root in the northern region of the country, particularly in districts like Rangpur and Lalmonirhat.

Dahagram, which used to be a Bangladeshi enclave inside Indian territory, was turned into a union parishad after exchange of enclaves between the two countries in 2015.

A rare paddy variety, which is cultivated in the remote shoals of  Brahmaputra basin under Kurigram district, is slowly but surely making its marks in the country’s rice market.

Ratna Akhter, a 15-year-old student of grade nine, previously used kerosene lamps when studying at home in Ghughumari, a remote char in northern Bangladesh with about 2,300 inhabitants.

In the remote villages of Kantapara, Jhaukuti, Char Gorakmandal, Paschim Phulmati, Jamakuti, and Kalabagan, nestled along the Baromasia river in Kurigram’s Phulbari, stands a 40-foot-long bamboo bridge that has become the lifeline for over 10,000 residents.

Braving the bitter morning cold, Majibur Rahman went to his field in Chinatuli char on Teesta river in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila’s Rajpur union.

Dense fog and low temperatures are disrupting agricultural work across the northern districts of Kurigram and Lalmonirhat as a cold wave persists in the region.

Despite the risks to soil and the environment, tobacco companies are encouraging farmers in Lalmonirhat to expand tobacco cultivation this year. Influenced by previous profits, farmers are now choosing new areas for planting tobacco seedlings.

Despite the risks to soil and the environment, tobacco companies are encouraging farmers in Lalmionirhat to expand tobacco cultivation this year. Influenced by previous profits, farmers are now choosing new areas for planting tobacco seedlings

Bumper yield of catkin, locally called kashia, this season has brought smiles to many farmers in Kurigram’s Chilmari upazila as they are earning a handsome profit by selling the produce at good prices due to its high demand.

Unabated erosions by the Brahmaputra, Teesta, Dharla, Dudhkumar and Gangadhar rivers rendered more than one lakh people homeless in Kurigram in the last 10 years.

Some local ruling party men have allegedly grabbed eight acres of land belonging to a minority Hindu family in Hatibandha upazila.

“I’m earning less than half what I used to earn 10 years ago. People now are not intending to invest in cultural practice, so the need for musical instruments is that minimal,” said Parimal Chandra Monidas.

The day-to-day life of people in some upazilas of Kurigram and Lalmonirhat has been severely affected by the cold and dense fog