Partha Chakrabortty

Once flowing Bhairab river and several canals in Kachua upazila of Bagerhat are heading towards virtual death, thanks to illegal occupation and garbage dumping for years.

The water of the Baleshwar river in Bagerhat’s Kachua upazila has never tasted salty in 58-year-old farmer Altaf Hossain’s life, until this year.

Continuous erosion by the river Nabaganga is threatening the homes and livelihoods of 400 families in two villages of Narail’s Kalia upazila.

Believe it or not, a dilapidated concrete bridge, ‘protected’ with bamboo poles for around three years, serves as the lone means for people of at least 12 villages in Narail Sadar upazila.

The ongoing hilsa season sees poor netting of the popular fish in the coastal waters, much to the frustration of fishermen and traders of Bagerhat’s KB Ghat.

The government has initiated a mega project to dredge three rivers and twenty-two canals in Narail district to restore navigability and improve agriculture and fisheries.

A good number of farmers in Narail are benefiting from the organic cultivation of cucumber.

With 15 out of 21 posts of doctors lying vacant for around three years, the Kalia Upazila Health Complex in Narail is struggling to

Time has not been kind to the Rezakhoda Mosque, one of the historic relics from the group of monuments in Bagerhat, declared as World Heritage by Unesco in 1985. Yet, the apathy of the Department of Archaeology is pushing the historic ruins into further state of decay.

Signboard Bazar to Kachua road, a 7.5-kilometre-long regional highway that connects Kachua upazila with the Bagerhat district headquarters, is one of the busiest in the district. But it has been in a deplorable state for the past one year.

Thousands of shrimp farmers in five upazilas of Bagerhat are counting heavy losses as shrimps are dying in numbers due to high water temperatures and salinity in shrimp enclosures.

Patients are deprived of proper healthcare services at the 100-bed Bagerhat Sadar Hospital due to shortage of doctors.

People of five upazilas of the coastal district are facing acute drinking water crisis as most of the pond sand filters (PSFs) installed by the government remained inoperative for various reasons.

Acute larvae scarcity coupled with excessive salinity and ammonia in water have forced almost all prawn hatcheries in Bagerhat to close their business.

A blame game over an outstanding electricity bill of over Tk 11 lakh is now blocking operation of the newly con-structed building of the state-run hospital in Bagerhat.

Over 150 employees of Bagerhat sub-registrar and land record offices have been working in a tattered building for the last seven years despite serious risks.

Indiscriminate catching of egg bearing crabs continues in the Sundarbans, defying the two-month government ban meant for protecting the species during the ongoing breeding season.

Commercial cultivation of local variety delicious fish patari sees success in Danpota area of Fakirhat upazila adjacent to the Passur river in the district, thanks to the initiative of five farmers.

Dublar Char and several other areas in the Sundarbans are now buzzing with activities as a large number of fishermen are engaged in drying fishes after netting them from the sea.

Construction of the six storied building of 250-bed hospital in the town was completed in January this year but it is yet to become operational due to bureaucratic problems.