Weekend Read
Hill destroyers go unpunished
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.
Gill nets banned but abundant
At least 300 factories continue to make these deadly fishing traps in Munshiganj due to lax monitoring and lenient punishment
In Cumilla, canals run black
Joinul Hossain, a 55-year-old farmer in Cumilla Sadar south upazila, followed in his father’s footsteps to dedicate his entire life to cultivating their small piece of land and fishing in a canal near it.
Eden Mohila College: 150 years of history and glory
The Eden Mohila College is noted not only for its academic excellence and its pioneering role in promoting women’s education in erstwhile British Bengal and present-day Bangladesh, but also for its glorious past and major contributions in shaping the nation’s history.
The forgotten people of Gaibandha shoals
It was September 20. The clock almost ticked past midnight at Dighalkandi shoal in the Jamuna river. Manoara Begum, 30, had been suffering from a persistent fever and cough for over two weeks.
From Chatlapur Tea Garden to Gothenburg: A journalistic odyssey
All that I tried so far was to represent the tea garden people and write about their plight, alongside reporting about the regional affairs.
Bangabandhu Tunnel Dream becomes reality
The inauguration of the Bangabandhu Tunnel by the prime minister today carries high hopes, with experts and locals anticipating that it will transform Chattogram into a city resembling Shanghai and boost industrial growth in the port city.
‘It was technically complex, challenging’
Md Harunur Rashid Chowdhury, who is an additional chief engineer at the Roads and Highways Department, has served as the director of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel project since February 2018, with his term extended three times until February 2024.
Exploring the delectable world of Durga Puja bhog
Durga Puja, the celebration of goddess Durga’s triumph over the demon king Mahishasura, is perhaps the biggest religious and cultural festival for Hindus in Bangladesh, West Bengal, and some other parts of Eastern India.
Unplanned sluice gates a curse for coastal districts
Once a fisherman, Sagir Hossain Somed, 55, of Dakshin Gilabad village of Pirojpur’s Mathbaria upazila, switched to farming after fish population depleted alarmingly within a few years of the construction of a sluice gate in neighbouring Dadhibhanga village.
A testimony to earliest sculpting techniques of Bengal
A rare Vishnu statue has recently been discovered during visits to several archaeological sites in Sarail upazila of Brahmanbaria.
Arctic Circle: A trip to the land of glaciers
How vast is our planet? The answer may lie in how we perceive it. On the grand cosmic scale, the earth is minuscule, a mere speck invisible even under the most powerful microscope. However, on a human scale, it is truly enormous.
A silent witness to Dhaka’s history
With falling leaves, worn-out epitaphs and gravestones, and rustle of breeze whispering tales from four centuries ago -- Dhaka Christian Cemetery, known to city dwellers as Narinda or Wari cemetery, has been the resting place of many known or unsung heroes for decades.
The Great Himalayan Trail: Shakil’s story of perseverance
“Throughout the journey, death knocked at my door several times, but I never lost my focus, I never gave up,” said Ikramul Hasan Shakil, the intrepid conqueror of the Great Himalaya Trail (GHT), home to three of the highest peaks in the world.
‘Our struggle for water is never-ending’
Bidyut Kumar Mondol, a farmer from Kamardha village in Naogaon’s Porsha upazila, finds himself grappling with a challenging predicament. He had prepared 23 bighas of land for cultivating Aman paddy, but his dreams have been thwarted by a relentless lack of water.
High Barind running out of water
Due to decades of excessive water extraction, over 40 percent of unions in the high Barind region are facing severe groundwater depletion.
Arial beel under threat
Arial Beel, one of the largest wetlands located in Munshiganj, is facing an invasion by illegal real estate developers. These business entities have acquired portions of the wetland, filling them up with sand and strategically placing signboards to attract potential buyers for residential development.
Farashganj: The French connection
In the heart of Old Dhaka, there lies a neighbourhood with a captivating history, centuries-old buildings and a thriving spice market. Farashganj is located on the northern bank of the Buriganga river. Established in 1780, its principal thoroughfares are BK Das Road and Ahsanullah Road. In today’s issue of the Weekend Read, we will explore the history, mystery, and spice of Farashganj.
JUTE MILLS IN DISARRAY
Due to lack of maintenance, the once-vibrant mill compounds now appear to be haunted places with weeds and vines growing all over
Remote palichara reflects overall reality
Palichara, a remote village in Rangpur district, is not an unknown name in the local football fraternity ever since it emerged as a breeding ground of female footballers in the country.
Hatcheries take over traditional methods
Once upon a time, egg collectors used conventional earthen wells to hatch spawns after collecting eggs released by broodfish in the Halda.
