Headlines

50,000 hectares of forest lost in a decade to encroachment Encroachers have deforested nearly 50,000 hectares of the Sundarbans in the last decade, a study has found. This means the world’s largest mangrove forest spreading over 6.01 lakh hectares area has lost 8.3 percent of its northern front between 2000 and 2010. The study, done ... Read more

Vitamin-enriched Rice Field test delayed  Scientists wait for approval from regulators Regulators’ foot-dragging has failed scientists in field-testing Vitamin A-enriched rice, better known as “Golden Rice”. A year passed by since the researchers sought approval for a “confined field trial” on Golden Rice but they are still to get a response. As a result, the ... Read more

4 Dhaka rivers lose 2,500 acres of land thru’ dubious demarcation River-saving efforts of the government are backfiring to some extent as around 2,500 acres of foreshores and existing waterways in four rivers in greater Dhaka has been given to “land owners” in the process. According to related laws, no-one can ‘own’ foreshores or waterways ... Read more

Bangladesh set to release the world’s first zinc-enriched variety Bangladesh is all set to release the world’s first zinc-enriched rice variety, capable of fighting diarrhoea and pneumonia-induced childhood deaths and stunting. The hi-zinc rice will also be the most early-mature variety to be grown in Aman season in the country. The National Seed Board (NSB), ... Read more

House rent in Dhaka going up by about 15pc every year; owners arbitrary for lack of proper law, specific authority Capital Dhaka is home to some 150 million people. One study shows nearly 80 percent of them live in rented houses, and they do so, as it looks, at the mercy of the house owners. ... Read more

Thousands suffer as tailbacks delay Dhaka bound trips by hours A 70-kilometre tailback on Dhaka-Tangail highway that lasted for about 17 hours took a serious toll on the Eid holidaymakers returning to the capital yesterday. The congestion, from Chandra of Gazipur to Bangabandhu bridge in Tangail, began when a bus broke down on a bridge ... Read more

Purbachal Housing Project Hundreds of acres of forest, crop land, water bodies destroyed The authorities destroyed nearly 1,600 acres of crop land, forests, orchards and water bodies in Kaliganj under Gazipur district for creating Purbachal New Town, a government housing project, about 16 km from the capital. Flanked by the rivers, Balu and Sitalakhya, the ... Read more

Jamuna Eco Park Good initiative, gross negligence The Bangabandhu Jamuna Eco-Park in Sirajganj, which could become a lucrative spot pulling in local and foreign tourists, has been in a sorry state for years. The park, about 125 kilometres north-west of Dhaka, has over 50 varieties of timber, fruit and medicinal trees and a zoo, but ... Read more

The English Road Park of the capital, which was made for children’s recreation, is now used for dumping garbage as well as a truck garage. It is impossible for anyone who never visited the spot to imagine that once it was a children park as no amenities and park installments are left there. One part ... Read more

Upturned Oil Wagons Karnaphuli at stake The furnace oil, spilled from three wagons of a freight train derailed at Boalkhali in Chittagong on Tuesday, poses a serious threat to the aquatic creatures living in the river Karnaphuli, and its surrounding biodiversity. The three oil tankers contained around 1,00,000 litres of furnace oil, around 33,000 litres ... Read more

Illegal motorcycle riding continues on the sidewalks of the capital city flouting the rules as well a High Court order with the police looking the other way. In the absence of enforcement riders use the sidewalks as their free way to the detriment of the pedestrians. The Dhaka Metropolitan Police and its traffic wing pay ... Read more

JATRABARI FLYOVER No specific date for completion of work After missing out on several deadlines, the government seems unwilling to give a specific date for commissioning of the under-construction Gulistan-Jatrabari flyover, apparently due to slow pace in the project implementation. Slow progress of construction forced the local government division to postpone the opening of the ... Read more

Moghbazar-Mouchak Flyover Faulty design halts construction The work of the 8.25 kilometre Moghbazar-Mouchak flyover has been almost suspended six months after the start of its construction because of faulty design, said officials. Experts and consultants said that the project cost, estimated at Tk 772.7 crore, could increase due to the delay and initiatives to redesign ... Read more

Gulshan Lake and its surroundings continue to be polluted as household wastes and sewage find their way into the water body. Local people and environmentalists have alleged that for lack of enforcement of law and proper planning the lake is continuously getting polluted. Habibur Rahman, a resident of Gulshan 2, blamed the authorities for inadequate ... Read more