Mostafa Yousuf

A proposed project of Chattogram Wasa set to withdraw 14 crore litres of water from the Halda river daily for an economic zone poses serious threat to the unique water body, the lone breeding ground for natural spawning of carp fish in South Asia.

Hefajat chief Junaid Babunagari yesterday threatened to pull down and destroy all the sculptures no matter which party puts those up.

The land acquisition office of Cox’s Bazar acquired 1.171 acres of disputed land from the wife and brother-in-law of the municipality mayor at Tk 36 crore for a project in violation of multiple acquisition and property transfer laws.

Shortly before this story went to print last night, missing journalist Golam Sarwar was found unconscious beside a canal at Sitakunda’s Kumira.

The freshwater dolphins in Bangladesh are only decreasing in number over the last few years mainly for manmade hazards, say experts.

The village is named after its highest hill, Rangapahar, but the natural landmark no longer exists.

Most of the trash that washed ashore on Cox’s Bazar beach in July, causing uproar among environment activists and conservationists, came from the fishing community. A probe body formed the same month came up with the findings recently after analysing the waste, visiting the spots, and talking to fishermen, locals and experts.

Sanmar Properties Limited, one of the top real estate companies in the country, has been razing greenery along with hills nearby Bangladesh Forest Research Institute in Chattogram city’s Sholoshahar area for a twin multistory apartment block project.

Four years of illegal sand lifting and forest razing have turned what was once a dense forest in Chakaria, Cox’s Bazar, into what now appears to be a lake.

Coal-based power plants being constructed in Cox’s Bazar could be responsible for 30,000 deaths over 30 years. The plants will be releasing hazardous elements, emitting pollutants 800 percent higher than the international average.

Freedom fighters in Chattogram’s Banshkhali upazila have come under several attacks in recent times after they protested the authorities’ failure to give a guard of honour to one of their fellow freedom fighters before his burial in late July.

Asian Paper Mill, which last year was found to be a major factory responsible for polluting the Halda River, possibly the lone natural breeding ground of carp fish in South Asia, is accelerating its efforts to resume operations.

In August 2018, Sabiha Begum (not her real name) was approached by a group of locally influential men who wanted to buy her homestead.

Potters, musical instrument makers, idol artisans as well as folk singers across the country -- who rely on various Bengali festivals -- are living through hardship as their income fell down drastically due to coronavirus, which brought all social and traditional events nearly to an end.

It is an unusual scene for port city dwellers to see a city administrator scooter through the city, instead of trveling in a motorcades with police protocol.

People living near Chiria Reserve Forest are sometimes woken up at night by the sound of trespassers felling trees on the hills.

To avoid animosity with locals responsible for the deaths of wild elephants in the Chattogram region, forest department officials manipulate autopsy reports by attributing the deaths to natural causes and rarely file cases, thus sparing the killers of a critically endangered species.

Port city residents hoped to rid themselves of waterlogging when CDA (Chattogram Development Authority) took up a mega project in 2017 with a promise to end the perennial crisis within three years.

To boost food safety, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been advocating for preserving arable land for a long time.

A field hospital -- jointly set up by Bidyanondo Foundation and Chattogram Metropolitan Police -- is going to be inaugurated tomorrow amid increasing number of Covid-19 patients in the port city.