Sifayet Ullah

Inadequate parking, narrow roads and roadside passenger drop-offs clog key intersections

Hundreds of residents in Chattogram are struggling to get enough water as saltwater intrusion in the Halda River and reduced releases from Kaptai Lake have sharply curtailed freshwater production of the Chattogram Water and Sewerage Authority.

At around 11:30am yesterday, a group of five stepped down from a CNG auto-rickshaw at the Badurtala Boro Garage intersection in Chattogram. Two men and three women stood briefly by the roadside. One young man carried a hand microphone and a poster, while the others held leaflets.

Voters in Chattogram-8 (Boalkhali–Chandgaon) are growing increasingly confused as tensions between Jamaat-e-Islami and its alliance partner National Citizen Party (NCP) intensify, disrupting coordinated campaigning and creating uncertainty at the grassroots ahead of the polls.

A decade ago, travellers on the Dhaka–Chattogram highway could see lush hill forests and fertile fields while passing through Satkania. Today, the landscape is dominated by rows of brick kilns belching smoke and scarring the land.

Long before Foy’s Lake became a popular destination for leisure and tourism, it was created for a practical purpose.

A newly constructed kitchen market in the Gohira area of Raozan municipality in Chattogram has remained unused for nearly a year despite shops being handed over to the vendors.

Even after 21 months since the inauguration of Cox’s Bazar railway station, locker service is yet to be made available for passengers, leaving many tourists disappointed.