Mirza Shakil

Growers in Tangail have big smiles on their face as their off-season watermelons are fetching higher prices since demand has been good owing to the sweltering heat. 

An important bridge at Nirail village in Basail upazila that tilted just after completion of its construction work has not been reconstructed in the last five years.

Around 2,379 roadside trees are being cut for the development work of the Tangail-Aricha highway. These include mango, berry, jackfruit, mahogany, banyan and numerous other old trees.

Tangail, once known for its picturesque waterbodies, now finds itself in the clutches of an alarming environmental crisis. Over the past three decades, this district has been transformed into an unforgiving concrete jungle at the cost of  its rivers and open spaces.

People of west Tangail have been facing immense suffering due to the delay in the reconstruction of a bridge on Louhajang river, which collapsed after half its construction was completed about a year ago due to the negligence of the authorities and contractors.

Three government ponds are being filled in Tangail’s Santosh area for constructing a market in place of the kitchen market established by legendary political leader Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani.

The honey queen variety of pineapple, locally known as Joldungi, cultivated in the Madhupur Garo area has seen a better yield this year compared to the previous season thanks to favourable weather.

Erosion by the Jamuna has hit riverside villages in Tangail’s Nagarpur upazila hard.

Illegal sand extraction from Dhaleswari river in Tangail Sadar upazila’s Charabari area has put riverside villages and an important bridge connecting several char unions in danger of erosion.

Townspeople’s demand for a separate children’s park has not been fulfilled for decades.  

Illegal sand lifting from the Poulee river, a branch of Jamuna, in Tangail’s Kalihati upazila has been continued unabated.

Farmers across two coastal districts of Bangladesh, namely Patuakhali and Barguna, as well as Tangail are increasingly growing oilseed crops in a bid to profit from the ever-higher prices of edible oil.

Home-bound passengers travelling to the north for Eid this year may face the same old issue of heavy traffic jams at both ends of the Bangabandhu Bridge. Despite the concerns raised by transport workers, passengers and other parties concerned, the authorities have failed to provide assurance of a hassle-free journey.

Commuters visiting their homes in the country’s North for Eid will face much suffering as the Bangabandhu Bridge west link road in Siraganj is in bad shape due to the ongoing widening and renovation works.

Farmers of different hilly areas in Tangail’s Madhupur and Ghatail upazilas are cultivating various types of medicinal plants like tulsi (basil) and aloe vera commercially and earning good profits.

Several thousand battery-powered rickshaws are causing unbearable traffic jams in Tangail town, despite a ban from the higher court. Residents are struggling with regular traffic jams due to the large number of illegal vehicles on the roads.

The Water Tank area in Tangail town, one of the main mass-killing grounds during the Liberation War in 1971, is finally getting due recognition after over 50 years of the country’s independence.

Tangail sari weavers and traders are so far disappointed with the low turnout of wholesale buyers at Karatia market in Tangail sadar upazila as they had hoped to make good sales on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr this year.

The traditional craft of making shital pati mats in Tangail is facing a severe threat due to the shortage of raw materials and rising production costs. The lack of necessary capital has made matters worse for the craftsmen involved in this ancestral profession.

The only digital X-ray machine at 250-bed Tangail General Hospital has been lying inoperative for over five years, depriving patients of its service.