Mostafa Shabuj

The bumper yield of Aman paddy and good prices has brought big smiles to the faces of rice growers in six northern districts.

In the last few years, the SAU admins seem to have moved away from the right track.

The majestic Kanchenjunga, the world’s third highest mountain.

Considering the rush of visitors from all over the country, the tourist facilities in Panchagarh are anything but adequate.

They staged a demonstration, blocked roads, and submitted written applications to the local electricity office, upazila nirbahi officer, and deputy commissioner. They also talked to the Rangpur divisional commissioner to get electricity for the irrigation pump. But they are yet to get it.

While the government, tea board and factory owners have benefited, tea farmers have been suffering losses for years.

Bangladesh’s Rakibul Islam, a national cycling champion, won Powerman Duathlon Asia Championship 2022 in Putrajaya today.

Cyclone Sitrang has affected 33,000 hectares of transplanted Aman paddy crop and washed away fish and shrimps mainly in the southern coastal districts, officials said yesterday.  

The Indian meteorological department (IMD) provided a forecast an hour ago saying that a potential cyclone-storm is likely to hit some parts of West Bengal and Bangladesh coasts with around 93 kmph wind speed on October 25.

Some polling officials yesterday alleged they did not get enough cooperation from law enforcers and magistrates to stop irregularities during the Gaibandha-5 by-election on October 12.

A number of presiding officers have alleged that they were forced by ruling Awami League men to make written statements that Wednesday’s voting in Gaibandha-5 by-polls was free and fair.

The Election Commission holds the local administration and presiding officers responsible for the polling irregularities that ultimately led to the suspension of Gaibandha-5 by-election on Wednesday.

In a move not seen in recent times, the Election Commission stopped the Gaibandha-5 by-polls, saying the situation went “out of control” due to widespread electoral irregularities.

A team of Bogura police, on a mission to rescue an abduction victim, was robbed in Sirajganj Sadar upazila early yesterday.

The Election Commission is going to hold the by-election to the Gaibandha-5 constituency today using electronic voting machines amid confusion among many voters about how to use the devices.

“I’m not willing to talk any more about football. Football has ruined my life,” said a dejected Chathuima Marma after this reporter finally managed to contact her on phone last Thursday.

One does not have to be a doctor or a researcher to understand that food security is not just about having rice three times a day.

The government should set up a hybrid paddy research facility alongside the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) to break the private sector’s monopoly on the seed market and increase rice production, according to Mohammad Masum, chairman of the Supreme Seed Company.

People who subsist on paddy farming in the country’s northern districts, namely Bogura, Joypurhat, Gaibandha and Dinajpur, are currently in a vulnerable situation due to their prolonged struggle to make a profit from the crop amid rising labour costs.

For years, farmers have been struggling to profit from paddy farming, and it is only politics that can help them out of this predicament.