Dipankar Roy

Most drains of Khulna City Corporation (KCC) have turned into garbage heaps due to unplanned waste disposal and improper waste management. City dwellers are facing environmental degradation and health risks due to blockages in the drainage system and contamination of water resources near uncontrolled dumping sites.

The numbers from Sunday's parliamentary polls in Khulna indicate that voters turned out in droves to exercise their rights, with the exception of the one constituency where electronic voting took place.

The voters from minority communities will play a major role in the six constituencies of Khulna during tomorrow's polls as they hold a large stake in the area's vote bank.

A tough competition awaits candidates in Khulna-3 constituency (Khalishpur, Daulatpur and Khanjahan Ali) as around 25 percent of the total voters, consisting of jute mill workers, are still indecisive.

Confusion remains among many over casting votes using electronic voting machines in Satkhira-2 and Khulna-2 as they have no practical knowledge of the machines.

Promises of further development work are Awami League contestants' election mantra in Khulna while the BNP candidates are pledging “restoration of democracy”.

A rifle slung on her back, grenades stashed in her pockets, and a five-month-old baby in her arms was how freedom fighters in the Sundarbans witnessed as Khurshid Jahan joined them in the Liberation War in 1971.

The Jatiya Oikyafront candidates in the six constituencies of Khulna are heavily depending on female activists for their campaigns as most of the men are either on the run or under cover fearing police.

With the election 14 days away, campaigning should be in full swing but the situation in Khulna is different.

BNP-nominated candidates from Jamaat-e-Islami have full confidence to keep five constituencies in Khulna division in the December 30 general election.

The Election Commission (EC) yesterday started public demonstration of electronic voting machines (EVM) at four centres of ward 22 under Khulna City Corporation.

A total of 3,67,000 new voters have been added to the updated voter list in Khulna district, taking the total number of voters to 18,00,656, who would exercise their franchise in the December 30 election.

Hundreds of children are being deprived of immediate care as Khulna Shishu Hospital is overflowing with patients after a recent outbreak of viral fever.

Dhaka-bound “Chitra Express” left the newly-constructed train station in Khulna yesterday morning around 8:40am. On March 3, 2018 Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the station but some technical and administrative work caused the delay in starting formal operations.

When Picture Palace and Ullasini were built in 1940s, they were the first cinema halls in Khulna and drew movie-lovers from far and wide. Back at the time and the decades following it, cinema-going was a social event to be enjoyed with family and friends.

Most BNP leaders of Khulna hopeful of contesting the national election in six constituencies in the district are not found in their localities, fearing arrests and harassment.

Around 200 tonnes of waste remain uncollected on Khulna City Corporation (KCC) streets every day -- causing health risks and environmental hazards for city dwellers.

Palash Sheikh, a man of 32, runs a tea stall at Narkeltola Bazaar near Mongla upazila under Bagerhat district. Just a few miles south of the bazaar, lies the world's largest coastal mangrove forest, the Sundarbans.

The prevalence of HIV/AIDS infections among people of southern districts are increasing sharply, raising health concerns in the region.

Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay is a name entwined with the rural Bengal and its people. He specifically focused on the north-western districts of the undivided Bengal and brought out an amazing portrayal of the simple rustic life and its scenic beauty.