Mintu Deshwara

With the only wooden bridge in the area -- their only means of travel to nearby markets, schools, and health facilities -- washed away by recent torrential rains, residents of Maijgaon in the Ranigaon Union of Chunarughat upazila in Habiganj are now relying on a makeshift banana raft to cross the river.

Frustrated locals fix issues themselves with funds from expatriates

The 50-bed Shayestaganj Upazila Health Complex in Habiganj has remained non-operational for the past eight years due to unresolved land acquisition complications, leaving more than 1.5 lakh residents without access to essential healthcare services.

A section of the Bashirpur-Bazarchali road in Paschim Juri Union under Juri upazila of Moulvibazar has remained submerged for years, severely disrupting the daily movement of locals, particularly school- and college-going students.

“I thought, perhaps, I would be able to spend my few remaining days in peace at my late husband’s village home. Kalni devoured it all. Only a part of the door now remains,” said Suniti Rani Sutradhar, 87, of Badarpur village under Ajmeriganj upazila of Habiganj.

The government imposed a 20kmph speed limit for trains and vehicles passing through Lawachara National Park in Kamalganj upazila of Moulvibazar in 2023 to protect wildlife.

The Rajnagar Upazila Health Complex in Moulvibazar has long been grappling with severe disruption to its services due to an acute shortage of doctors and technical staff.

Even before dawn breaks in mid-summer, the Brahmanbazar wholesale market in Kulaura upazila bursts into life. Buyers and sellers crowd the area, haggling over the price of ripe jackfruit, their sweet aroma filling the air.

At least 10 to 12 age-old teak trees have been illegally felled and stolen in recent weeks from Section 16 of Satchari National Park, a protected forest in Chunarughat upazila of Habiganj -- raising serious concerns over forest management and surveillance failures.

Amir Hossain Siraj, a nursery business owner by profession and a bamboo craftsman by passion, began crafting bamboo décor for village weddings back in 2003 as a hobby.

In the remote Tilagaon area under Moulvibazar’s Kamalganj upazila, mat weaving using bamboo fibres is a traditional handicraft that has been passed down through generations, helping countless rural families make a sustained living over the years.

Wild animals, birds, and rare plant species were wiped out as the fire swept through the protected area

An unregulated influx of tourists, especially during public holidays, is threatening the biodiversity and natural balance of Lawachara National Park in Moulvibazar’s Kamalganj upazila, raising concerns among environmentalists and forest officials.

In a tragic incident on May 20, an endangered Capped Langur baby was crushed to death by a speeding microbus on the old Dhaka-Sylhet highway through Satchari National Park.

Once an ordinary housewife, Asma has become a silent entrepreneur, weaving not just sarees but a new future -- thread by thread

"I can never afford to buy beef during the rest of the year. It's simply too expensive," says Rahman, who has been involved in the business of removing meat from the skins of slaughtered cattle for the past 20-25 years

The Forest Department conducted emergency repairs using sandbags to restore limited access

A seven-kilometre stretch of road connecting Prithimpasha and Karmadha unions in Kulaura upazila of Moulvibazar has long been in a dilapidated state following years of neglect and lack of maintenance by the authorities concerned.

Water levels in Manu, Dhalai, and Juri rivers continued to rise following weeklong downpour in Moulvibazar

At least 10 endangered primates, including seven Phayre’s Langurs (Trachypithecus phayrei) and three Spectacled Langurs (Semnopithecus entellus), have died of electrocution since May 2024 in Moulvibazar’s Juri and Barlekha ranges, raising serious concerns among conservationists.