Dipankar Roy

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.

The death of 15-year-old Sajib, a worker at the Rampal Power Plant site, brought attention to an issue that went previously unnoticed -- the lack of safety gears and the unsafe conditions that the plant workers have to face.

About 3,000 people affected by Aila in Dakope and Koyra upazilas have been living on embankments as refugees for nine years since the cyclonic storm that hit the country's southwest region on May 25 in 2009.

Khulna is like a haven for drug dealers as several policemen, with ranks from constable to officers-in-charge, are directly or indirectly involved in the smuggling and the supply chain.

Of all the 286 polling centres in Khulna City Corporation, the one at Nayabati Haji Shariatullah Bidyapith in ward-10, stands out for recording a turnout of 99.94 percent voters.

Polling agents of the BNP-backed mayoral candidate are not seen in at least four polling centres during Khulna City Corporation elections since the voting began.

To see deep green paddy as it sways to a gentle breeze is anybody's delight. The paddy fields of Aruni Mondal, 42,