Anvil Chakma

The indigenous communities of the hill tracts will not celebrate their new year amid the coronavirus fears.

“All the 35 families in our village have to collect water daily from a distant chhara [spring in the hills]. Our sufferings mount during the dry season,” said Karna Rani Tanchangya, 32, of Debotachari village under Ghagra union of Rangamati’s Kawkhali upazila.

At least five Tripura children died of measles over last three weeks and 130 others were also infected in Rangamati’s Baghaichhari upazila.

Thousands of residents in ten villages under two unions of Dighinala upazila have been risking their lives to cross the Maini river for ages, without a permanent bridge on the hilly river.

There are bushes inside the boundary wall. The playground has almost become a jungle. Doors and windows are broken.

When reconstruction of Chowdhury Para Government Primary School building was completed back in 1998, its three rooms -- two for classes and the other for administrative purposes -- were probably more than enough for a sparsely populated hill tract upazila such as Kawkhali.

Vermicomposting, the natural process of converting organic wastes into fertilisers using earthworms, is bringing extra income to many farmers in Rangamati.

Rangamati Government College (RGC), once regarded as one of the acclaimed educational institutions in the district, has been struggling to live up to expectations for at least two decades now.

In 2008, Somoyon Chakma’s brother brought two seeds of rambutan, a tropical fruit closely related to the litchi, from Thailand. He then grew a rambutan plant in the courtyard of his house from the seeds. After five long years, the tree finally bore fruits in 2013.

Fish cultivation in cages set in open water bodies encourages farmers in Rangamati Sadar upazila.

Today marks the second anniversary of 120 lives perished in landslides across Rangamati in 2017.

There are many attractive tourist spots in our country including Rangamati, one of the most popular spots for domestic tourist. On this Eid holidays, many of tourist spots in Rangamati, including Sajak Valley, Hanging Bridge, Kaptai Lake, Paulwell Park, Aranyak Peda Ting Ting and Subolong spring, are expecting guests from all over the country.

Purna Mala Tanchangya straps a basket on her back and carries as many pots and pans as possible to go and collect water at least twice a day from a well that is about two to three kilometres away.

A nature lover is working hard to preserve rare varieties of orchids that bloom on the hills in Khagrachhari.

A three-day-long colourful Biju festival of the Chattogram Hill Tracts began in the district yesterday.

Even though the time pineapples usually ripen fall between the months of May and June, the Chattogram Hill Tracts (CHT) get the fruit at its sweetest at this time of the year as well.

The three-day CHT Theatre Festival, organised by Khudro Nrighosti Cultural Institute and supported by Rangamati Hill District Council,

About 300 families at four villages in Naniarchar upazila of the district are in dire straits since the lone bridge they use for daily communications collapsed due to heavy rain and impact of landslides about two years ago.

Madhusudan Talukder started planting orange saplings on two acres of land in Rangamati's Naniarchar upazila in 2007. By 2014, half of his 700 trees yielded fruits ready for sale.

Village common forest (VCF), a system to conserve forest and natural resources through collective efforts of indigenous people, is getting popular in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) region as the method significantly contributes to combating deforestation and degradation of ecosystem.