Mintu Deshwara

Leading British architect-planner Graeme Shankland once said, “A country without a past has the emptiness of a barren continent, and a city without old buildings is like a man without a memory.”

The public library in Kulaura has remained abandoned for four years. Due to lack of preservation, it has now become a garbage dump and waterlogged. The collection of valuable books written by eminent authors has also been completely destroyed.

For the last 20 years, Chinami Madraji has been working at a tea garden in Moulvibazar. Rain or shine, the 35-year-old mother of five works for eight to 10 hours a day.

Honey cultivation has proved to be a profitable venture for many farmers, especially small-scale entrepreneurs, in Sylhet division and as a result, people are becoming increasingly interested in the practice.

Gibbons are one of the most critically endangered primates in Bangladesh. Though once a prominent species, their numbers have dwindled due to continued loss of habitat and hunting.

Locally grown green sweet orange, or malta, enhances immunity and has shown to be quite helpful for treating people with anemia.

Under a quizzical social forestry project undertaken right in the middle of a natural forestland in Moulvibazar’s Kulaura upazila, the Forest Department is jeopardising age-old natural forestry as well as livelihoods of several hundred people living in the area for generations.

Long considered ominous creatures in our culture, vultures, in reality, play one of nature’s most crucial roles and keep the ecosystem in order.

When the government is observing National Fisheries Week countrywide, a section of unscrupulous fishers continues to catch native fish and aquatic lives erecting bamboo fences across the Laghata and Palak rivers in Kamalganj upazila of Moulvibazar.

Farmers are enjoying tremendous success cultivating papaya in fallow lands in Sreemangal upazila of Moulvibazar district, thanks to bumper yield and a reasonable market price.

Shahbazpur Tea Garden in Sreemangal upazila of Moulvibazar district has recently introduced a new variety called honey tea.

Twenty-five-year old Khadija Akter of Moulvibazar’s Barlekha upazila got married in Chauddagram of Cumilla. She moved to her father’s house a few months ago as she was pregnant.

Sylhet division is littered with numerous haors, waterfalls, swamp, hills, and tea gardens that make it an attractive tourist destination.

Haor areas of Sylhet division usually remain inundated for most of the year but there are high grounds where Boro paddy can be grown.

Weavers and clothing entrepreneurs in Kamalganj upazila of Moulvibazar usually take on loans to make Manipuri clothing items as they get ready for higher sales ahead of Eid festivals.

Centenarian Sami Lakachiang is considered the oldest person in Kakrachhara Punji, an indigenous village located in Moulvibazar’s Kulaura upazila.

A number of seasonal cattle farms have sprung up at villages found in Sylhet’s haor areas thanks to the availability of naturally-grown grass in the region, providing a much-needed alternative to paddy cultivation.

Watermelons of all shapes and sizes are currently available in the market but other than satisfying a customer’s craving for the refreshing fruit, its cultivation provides a spectacular view.

While cases of Covid-19 infection are rising every day amid the ongoing countrywide lockdown of most businesses and factories, the labour-intensive tea plantations remain open without ensuring minimal health rules.

An age-old “Kathaler Haat”, or jackfruit market, in Brahmanbazar area of Moulvibazar’s Kulaura upazila is seeing poor sales this year as recent restrictions on public movement aimed at containing the spread of Covid-19 have kept buyers at bay.