Kongkon Karmaker

Belongingness, willingness, compassion and leadership go a long way when it comes to overcoming any difficult situation or task.

All nine sugar mills operating across the country may face a shortage of sugarcane this year as the total farming area of this cash crop has declined by almost half compared to previous growing seasons.

Many Bangladeshis are facing slow death from silicosis after their return from India following years of work at stone crushing fields in different states of the neighbouring country.

With the number of Covid-19 patients increasing every day, M Abdur Rahim Medical College and Hospital in Dinajpur is overflowing. As of yesterday, around 200 people occupied the hospital’s 130-bed Covid unit.

Vegetable farmers in Rangpur and Dinajpur incurred huge losses amid the lockdown when they were finding it difficult to send crops to Dhaka and other parts of the country as truck operators were demanding high fares on different grounds.

Alam Hossain took to rearing about 100 cattle at his farm in Bakalipara village under Chirirbandar upazila of Dinajpur in spite of the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic last year hoping to become self-reliant.

With the massive surge of Covid-19 patients in the eight districts of Rangpur division, authorities of two major Covid treatment hospitals in Dinajpur and Rangpur have stopped taking patients with acute symptoms, as all ICU (Intensive Care Unit) beds remain occupied.

The growers of Haribhanga mango variety in Rangpur are expecting a good yield of this delicious seasonal fruit this year, which is considered a revolutionary crop in changing the agriculture economy in the district over the last ten years.

Since the coronavirus pandemic hit the country in March last year, the officials, staffers and miners of Barapukuria Coal Mining Company Limited (BCMCL) have been virtually leading a confined life inside company premises to prevent the spread of the highly transmissible contagious viral infection in the mining complex.

Two months into the second wave of Covid-19 in the country, shutki (dried fish) traders and producers of Rangpur division are yet to recover from the losses they incurred during the first wave of the pandemic.

Even though Covid-19 cases have been rising alarmingly since the last couple of weeks in Rangpur, there is still no ICU support at the hospitals in six districts of the division.

Ignoring the Monthly Payment Order (MPO) Policy 2021, an acting principal of a government college, has been enjoying amenities of two jobs since he was elected mayor of Dinajpur’s Birampur municipality in January this year.

Budgetary allocation for Rangpur division’s eight districts for fiscal 2021-22 should be adequate to expedite development of the country’s extreme north, primarily known for crop production, said businesspeople, economists and members of the civil society.

The litchi season may end earlier than usual this year as unfavourable weather conditions led to lower production of the sugary tropical fruit, according to industry insiders.

Rendered jobless due to the ongoing restrictions imposed to contain Covid-19, a good number of the less fortunate like Mujibur Rahman passed the Eid day this year without having any special meal.

A tiny mosque in Rangpur city, believed to be a structure built in the period of Bakhtiyar Khalji, is losing its lustre due to lack of any initiative by the concerned department.

Various businesses across the Rangpur and Sylhet regions are seeing an influx of customers ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr, which is likely to be celebrated on May 13 this year.

‘Shromajibi Canteen,’ an initiative of a group activists of Bangladesh Chhatra Union, has come as a boon to the working class of people in the lockdown situation when their daily income has been badly hit.

Litchi growers in Dinajpur fear a record low production this year because of unfavourable climate, absence of bees and high temperature during the last winter season.

Like any other women, Saptomi Rani Mungli, in her early life, used to dream of having a family filled with love and happiness. However, her dream was shattered as she had to undergo inhuman torture by her in-laws and her husband.