​​Sushanta Ghosh

Potholes have formed at various points along the 20-kilometre highway from Bhurghata to Batajor Kobibari in Gournadi upazila under Barishal district, making the route risky for travellers.

Continuous rain and strong tidal currents have left residents in panic as more than 80 spots in Barishal district face the threat of severe river erosion.

Thousands of passengers in Bhola face serious problems at launch terminals and boarding points because there are not enough waiting rooms and toilets.

Many families chose to travel by water to avoid the hassle of road congestion

Even eight years after construction began, Barishal’s first specialised hospital for children remains incomplete.

With frequent volatility in edible oil prices in the local market, farmers across the southern region are increasingly turning to oilseed cultivation -- both to meet household needs and as a commercial venture.

Severe erosion by the Meghna river has intensified in recent weeks in Shibpur union under Bhola Sadar upazila, threatening to wash away riverbank areas, a fish landing station, and other infrastructure.

Hospitals across Barishal are witnessing an alarming rise in diarrhoea cases, prompting serious concern among health officials over the increasing number of patients.

An acute shortage of teachers has left Barishal University struggling to conduct academic activities smoothly, exacerbating students’ woes with prolonged session jams.

Although watermelon cultivation has surpassed the target and farmers are celebrating a bumper yield this season, prices remain three times higher in major cities than at farm-level rates in Barishal—one of the largest watermelon-producing hubs in Bangladesh.

The Char Fasson municipal authorities have been dumping household and clinical waste along the Bhola-Char Fasson regional highway for a long time, spreading unbearable stench and making life miserable for commuters, students, and local residents.

Siddique Majhi, a 55-year-old fisherman from Kuakata, has spent three decades fishing in the deep sea but has never been able to tune into Bangladesh Betar’s Barishal station.

For the past ten years, the radiotherapy machine at Barishal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital (SBMCH) has been out of order, leaving thousands of cancer patients in the region without access to a critical part of their treatment.

Seat bookings for passenger ships that ply the inland waterways of Bangladesh, including the Barishal to Dhaka route, has decreased by at least 66 percent.

At least 111 illegal brick kilns, of which around one-third are with environmentally hazardous drum chimneys, have mushroomed across Barishal districts amid inadequate monitoring by the authorities concerned.

It was May 1971, when the Rahman family’s world turned upside down. Shafiur Rahman Jamal, a fifth-grader at BM School in Barishal, was a fifth grader  at BM School in Barishal at the time.

If you find yourself roaming the streets of the island district of Bhola, you might just spot one of the countless iconic “Moisha Dahi” (buffalo curd) signs that are almost synonymous with the district itself.

Dried fish produced in Barishal district is gaining popularity across the country.

Fishermen in Bhola have allegedly been fishing in the Meghna river using illegal “char ghera”, “behandi,” and “mosquito” nets, threatening aquatic biodiversity.

Barishal’s Fish Landing Centre on the banks of the Kirtankhola River has been inundated with solid waste, causing severe pollution. Despite the Department of Environment claiming that the Barishal City Corporation is responsible for the mess, no concrete measures have been taken to address the situation.