Sifayet Ullah

Rivers don’t live anymore, they merely exist. They exist as relics of their halcyon days when rivers were truly wild, mysterious, free -- or as a character in their own story, as told through poetry and music.

The Outer Stadium in Kazir Dewri area of Chattogram city is abuzz with activities these days.

At a time when the country’s bird population is shrinking amid habitat loss due to rapid urbanisation, the forest department in Chattogram has taken an initiative to create a haven for avian fauna.

At the break of dawn, Amir Hossain gets out of bed and steps into his Bathan, a shed where animals are housed and maintained. He starts his day by milking buffaloes, a routine he has maintained for almost a decade now.

A total of 97 candidates in Chattogram lost their security deposits in the just concluded national election for failing to get one-eighth of the cast votes as per the Election Commission law

Awami League candidates in eight constituencies of Chattogram are facing tough competition as the ruling party’s men are also contesting as independent candidates in these seats.

Candidates of Trinamool BNP, Bangladesh Supreme Party and Bangladesh Nationalist Movement are in a fix as Awami League and independent candidates are contesting in all the constituencies in Chattogram.

AL, independents dominant in all constituencies

Chattogram-5 (Hathazari) constituency is known as a stronghold of Jatiyo Party as its co-chairman Anisul Islam Mahmud has won six times from this seat.

Satgar area under Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary in Chattogram used to be a lush green haven for Asian elephants.

The Awami League has chosen to entrust  children of veteran party leaders  in six constituencies of Chattogram for the upcoming national polls. Reflecting a pattern seen in Bangladesh and across South Asian politics, these nominees, now the torchbearers of their political dynasties, include four re-nominees and two newcomers vying for victory under the “boat” symbol.

About a decade ago, different shipbreaking companies leased a portion of the coast in Kumira union of Chattogram’s Sitakunda upazila to set up yards, breaching a section of an earthen embankment.

The Karnaphuli Residential project, one of the oldest and major housing projects undertaken by the Chattogram Development Authority in south Chattogram, is still without any water supply, 30 years after its inception.

What were once walls with intricate terracotta motifs are now covered with mosses and weeds, a temple and a guesthouse located nearby were partially damaged -- this was what this correspondent saw when he visited the 150-year-old Panchkari Zamindar (landlord) Bari (palace).

Although more than 120 hills have vanished from the port city in four decades, no one has been put behind the bar for the offence in the last 20 years, thanks to legal loopholes.

Scenes of tilted buildings, residents being evacuated and owners facing financial losses, have become a regular occurrence in some areas of the port city.

A hill is being cut using an excavator, while a portion of another one has already been levelled -- this was what this correspondent saw during a visit to Sheikh Russel Aviary and Eco Park in Chattogram’s Rangunia upazila.

The Rural Electrification Board (Palli Bidyut) and the forest department are at loggerheads over connecting power cables through a forest reserve in Chattogram’s Fatikchhari upazila.

Bangladesh Railway started rebuilding Chowdhuryhat and Katirhat stations on the Chattogram-Nazirhat route in 2019. After four years, the construction is only halfway done, and the stations remain closed, causing daily difficulties for hundreds of passengers.

Encroachers have destroyed 95 acres of the Gohira mangrove forest in Chattogram’s Anwara upazila and turned the area into fish enclosures.