Sohrab Hossain

Destroying mangrove forests, fish enclosures and residential houses are being constructed in Patuakhali’s Kalapara. Locals alleged that rather than protecting the forests, forest department is assisting a vested quarter to cut different species of trees including chaila, keora, bine and golgach.

Akhlima Begum’s day starts at the break of dawn. Upon completing her household chores, she readies her small boat, which ferries passengers to and from Patuakhali’s Doani village of Galachipa upazila and Meermadan village of Dasmina upazila throughout the day.

Farmers of a remote coastal village in Barguna’s Taltali upazila have not only become solvent by producing seasonal vegetables but also turned the salty land into a green landscape.

On August 29, 2022, three-year-old Abdullah and 18-month-old Fahim, the two sons  of Azizur Rahman, a municipal councillor of Patuakhali’s Bauphal upazila, drowned.

Roads and Highways Department (RHD) recently constructed a new six-lane road in Patuakhali’s Kalapara upazila, with a divider to prevent collisions among motorists. Ironically, the divider has apparently been serving the exact opposite purpose.

Rakhine weavers in Barguna’s Taltali upazila are passing busy days now as demand for warm winter clothes has surged amid a sharp drop in temperatures. 

Idris Ali, a farmer of Kartikpasha village in Patuakhali’s Dumki upazila, has been cultivating mung beans after harvesting Aman paddy for about 20 years now.

The government has constructed a fish-landing station at a cost of Tk 13 crore in Mohipur area of Patuakhali’s ​​Kalapara upazila, but it has not been operational even after a year of its inauguration.

People have been producing molasses from nipa palm trees—popularly known as Gol Pata trees—for several years in different villages Kalapara upazila, including Nilganj, Nabipur, Mithaganj and Pakhimara.

While she had no access to formal education, Saleha Begum, a resident of Char Kashem and a mother of six, dreams of sending her children to school. But that dream is yet to be fulfilled since not a single school exists in the char.

On one fine winter evening, exactly a year ago, a launch named MV Abhijan-10 left Dhaka for Barguna around 6:00pm, with over 600 on board, although there was room for only 420.

Travel-enthusiasts, holidaymakers and tourists are planning to rush to various vacation spots across the country during an upcoming three-day holiday, which includes the weekend.

The price of coal in Bangladesh has flared up by some 78 per cent over the past year, hitting Tk 32,000 per tonne at present compared to Tk 18,000 per tonne previously, as depreciation of the local currency against the US dollar has made imports costlier, according to industry people.

Although her name is Jyotsna, which means a moonlit night, her reality is the exact opposite. There is only uncertainty in her life. After spending three years in jail with her mother, Jyotsna stepped into Patuakhali orphanage at the age of seven.

The demand for dried fish from Barguna’s Taltali upazila seems unencumbered by rising inflation as the region is supplying some 150 maunds to markets across Bangladesh each week amid the ongoing production season, according to traders.

Passengers across the country are facing hardships for the second consecutive day due to a strike called by water transport workers.

The number of people who go on vacation in Kuakata has increased exponentially ever since Padma Bridge was opened in June this year.

Abdul Mannan Mridha, a farmer in Kalaraja village of Patuakhali’s Galachipa upazila, found some artefacts while digging a pond in 2015.Seven years later, on November 21, Galachipa Upazila Nirbahi Official (UNO) Mohiuddin Al Helal handed over the artefacts to a delegation of the archaeology

In Char Kajal union  of Patuakhali stands Uttar Chhota Char Kajal Government Primary School. This is the only school in this remote area, where some 120 students are currently enrolled.

Several thousands of BNP leaders and activists boarded 41 trawlers and reached Barishal amid transport strike around the division to join the party rally scheduled for tomorrow (November 5, 2022).