S Dilip Roy

A man from ultra-poor family has been working at BDR Gate in the town as a volunteer traffic signalman for over a decade for people's welfare.

Following the government's decision to procure less rice from the local rice mills (chatal) this year than that of the previous years, most of the rice mills in the district are idle now.

Several thousand villagers of 10 ten villages under Mogholhat union in Sadar upazila have been suffering immensely as construction of a bridge on Ratnai river is yet to be completed.

Farmers in the district are upset due to fall in prices of paddy in the local markets to below the production cost, and some of them have lost interest in cultivating paddy in future.

Over 2000 families in former enclave Banshkata of Patgram upazila are now safe from the Dharla river erosion as river dredging and embankment protection works have been completed costing Tk 24.72 crore.

Twelve small rivers have already dried up and two major rivers -- Teesta and Dharla -- have been turned into canals in the district due to lack of water flow from upstream India.

Normal life is being disrupted in Lalmonirhat as an intense cold wave is sweeping over and thick fog blanketing all five upazilas of the northern district.

Housewife Shirina Begum, who set an example of producing bumper crops, especially vegetables, on a small land, has now become a role model for many female growers at her native Maynakuti village in Rangpur Sadar upazila.

The topsoil of vast areas of farmlands in the agriculture based northern district is being used for manufacturing bricks, which is having a harmful impact on agriculture and the environment.

A syndicate of influential people allegedly started lifting stone illegally from the Dharla river at four villages in Patgram upazila in the last week of November, threatening erosion by the river and damaging village roads by transporting stones on trucks.

The first three hours were peaceful, even festive at times as people came in to cast their vote at the polling centres in the Lalmonirhat 3 constituency since early morning.

While BNP supporters remained out of the field even on the day before the national polls fearing arrest and police harassment in Lalmonirhat-3 constituency, Awami League activists were active with last moment electioneering in support of the Jatiya Party candidate.

Voters in char areas of Lalmonirhat seem to have lost hope as several promises regarding the area's development had been announced in previous elections over the decades but nothing was done in reality.

Incidents of child marriages have significantly reduced on remote Char Sindurna on the Teesta in Hatibandha upazila under the district, thanks to the efforts of 25 schoolgirls.

Though Lalmonirhat-3 has been a stronghold of the Jatiya Party, a partner in the Awami League-led grand alliance, since 1991, the Jatiya Oikyafront, led by the BNP and several other parties, is eyeing a win this time.

Defying the law, 11 illegal brick kilns are being built on farmlands in three upazilas, posing a threat to agriculture and the environment.

Three Member of Parliament (MP) candidates out of four vying for Lalmonirhat-3 constituency (Sadar upazila) have pledged to the voters that they will work for checking crime and enhance development work for the welfare of the local people, if elected.

Fresh areas in the district have been targeted for tobacco farming during this current season as different tobacco companies allure the growers with payment of fair price of their produce.

Sixty-five-year-old Portap Chandra Roy in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila is waiting for over four decades to get his montly allowance as a freedom fighter (FF) while another man using the same serial number in Rangpur's Gangachara upazila is enjoying the benefits.

Char farmers have cultivated onion on vast tracts of char lands in the Teesta river this year as they got unexpected profit from selling the produce last year.