FIDDLERS OF THE SOUTH A female Blue Fiddler Crab, or Calling Crab, spotted on a sandy beach of the Sundarbans. What differentiates a female of this crab species from the male is the size of the claws. While a female has symmetrical ones, a male has one claw much larger than the other. And that is where it gets its name! When the males move the larger claw while communicating, mating, feeding, or fighting for dominance, it looks like they are playing the fiddle. They are found in mangroves, salt marshes or sandy and muddy beaches across the world. Like all crabs, the Fiddlers also shed their shells as they grow and prefer to remain in hiding until their new shells are hardened enough. However, they live a considerably brief life, spanning up to only two to three years. They are the least threatened species of crabs. PHOTO: TIMU HOSSAIN

A fisherman flaunts his haul of freshly caught fish at a waterbody in Borni area of Sylhet’s Companiganj upazila. With water levels going down, fishermen of the upazila are rushing to catch as many fish as possible. They sell the fish at a market next to the Sylhet-Companiganj Road, from where traders purchase and send them to markets across the country. PHOTO: SHEIKH NASIR

A schoolboy is bent double from coughing, while his fellow students are trying to swerve away from the smoke emitting from a burning pile of garbage near a footpath in the capital’s Satmasjid road yesterday noon. Not only is the road littered with open garbage, the trash is set on fire, releasing toxic smoke into the air. However, the authorities concerned seem to remain oblivious towards the harm such acts cause to the environment and the people. PHOTO: PRABIR DAS

Encroachment on the Shitalakkhya has narrowed the river in Bandar area of Narayanganj city. The grabbers have illegally set up dockyards and different other businesses on the land. Photo: Anisur Rahman