Sifayet Ullah

The government enacted the Bangladesh Ship Recycling Act in 2018 and asked the authorities concerned to build a Treatment Storage and Disposal Facility (TSDF) within 3 years for the safe disposal of hazardous waste.

A pond near the Jan Ali Hat Railway Station in the port city’s Chandgaon area has been turned into a dumping zone. Consequently, it has also become a safe breeding zone for mosquitoes.

The elevated expressway project in Chattogram is being delayed as Bangladesh Railway has not yet allotted the required land for the project, resulting in city dwellers suffering.

The newly-elected Chattogram zilla parishad chairman has set up a brick-making factory right beside a protected forest in the district’s Fatikchhari upazila. The factory is operating without any clearance from the Department of Environment (DoE).

One of the main housing projects undertaken by the Chattogram Development Authority (CDA) in 2017 was the Ananya Residential Area (Second Phase) project.

Due to illegal grabbing and inaction of the concerned authorities, Jolkodor canal in Chattogram’s Banskhali upazila has reduced to be a 30 feet wide stream from its previous width of 150 feet.

Despite the government’s priority programme to make the best use of every inch of available cultivable land, more than 15 thousand hectares of arable land in Chattogram remain uncultivated.

The cable car service in Sheikh Russel Aviary and Eco Park in the port city’s Rangunia upazila has remained closed since September 2021. The authorities have been working to restart its operations but no progress has been made to that effect in the last year.

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) plans to start the first ever ferry service between Sandwip island and Sitakunda in Chattogram.

Land grabbers, including those belonging to the influential quarters, are hatching a conspiracy to occupy three acres of land in Chattogram’s Nasirabad Social Forestry Nursery and Training Centre (SFNTC), alleged forest officials.

The Roads and Highways Department is seeking 174 acres to widen a road through the Ramgarh-Sitakunda Reserve Forest in Chattogram amid concerns of damage to the environment and violation of rules.

The long-awaited Bakalia access road, built to ease traffic and improve connectivity with south Chattogram from port city, will be opened for vehicular movements soon, said project officials.

A group of individuals has reportedly cut a hill by Chattogram city’s Sarson Road to build a road, without getting approval from the Department of Environment (DoE), much to the dismay of locals and environmentalists.

The Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) has taken an initiative to build a 5km road through the Ramu reserve forest, a move that forest officials and environmentalists say will bring disaster.

Alleging that the Awami League government has turned the country into a crematorium, the BNP has said there is no alternative to ending its rule.

To tackle erosion, the Forest Department has planted 29,000 trees on a stretch of Chattogram’s Halda riverbank -- which had been grabbed by locals -- bringing a welcome change for the region’s biodiversity.

Train services between Chattogram and Dohazari will resume next month amid widespread demands of commuters following two years of Covid induced closure.

As many as 81 species of plants on Karnaphuli riverbanks are in danger of going extinct over the next few decades due to the dumping of industrial wastes and other forms of pollution. 

Only two years after its reconstruction, the Ghoramora embankment in Sitakunda’s Sonaichhari Union collapsed. Now, over 25,000 people in five villages are passing their days amid fear.

After so many years, the Department of Environment (DoE) has finally taken an initiative to conduct a specialised survey with an aim to protect Chattogram’s hills.