Friday, December 13, 2024

Local seeds for local needs

Female farmers of Khulna exchange varieties at fair Dipankar Roy Seeds of local varieties – preserved by families for generations – have been the most adaptive way of cultivation for the distinct climatic conditions of the country’s coastal areas. In what is considered a yearly tradition, female farmers exchange the seeds at the “seed fair”, ... Read more

Ingenious indigenous innovation

Kabuljan Begum’s eco-friendly oven makes waves across Rajshahi Anwar Ali Fourteen years ago, Kabuljan Begum developed an environment-friendly oven to keep herself and her family safe from air pollution caused by open-fire ovens. Her solution has now become the go-to choice for hundreds of others in the rural areas of Rajshahi region, covering three districts ... Read more

Food crisis hits bee colonies

Thousands kill each other, climate change blamed Emran Hossain This year’s frequent, untimely winter rain left bees, a key pollinator, in an unprecedented conflict as they died in thousands fighting over food, beekeepers and government agricultural extension officials said. Affected beekeepers said that they never faced a crisis of food for bees to this extent ... Read more

Scientists expect Kakila will roam into water again

Freshwater garfish, known as Kakila in Bangladesh, once found in open water bodies, especially in rivers, canals, haors etc., is a delicious fish that is rich in nutrients, but now it is almost extinct, due to the effects of climate, natural disasters and various man-made habitats, damage to breeding grounds and the number of the ... Read more

Bad days for good farmers in Bangladesh 

Chemically grown pineapples see higher demand Consumers are falling for chemically grown eye-candy pineapples that look bigger and brighter than the naturally farmed ones but actually taste bland and have less nutrient content. This trend is hurting the farmers who are not using excessive chemicals while growing the fruit. To get a firsthand experience of ... Read more

Three in one

Cost effective agricultural tool made in Dinajpur A locally manufactured harvester in Dinajpur proves to be an all-in-one device, while the cost is relatively low. Anwar Hossain, a 51-year old quack at Dakkhin Basudevpur village under Phulbari upazila, designed the machine that can harvest, thresh and pack paddy or wheat simultaneously. The machine, which requires only ... Read more

Grabbers feast on Bakkhali river

Lax legal process encourages enchroachers in Cox’s Bazar Bakkhali river in Cox’s Bazar is getting narrower day by day as the land grabbers are out to encroach on both sides of the river by erecting illegal structures. Many of the grabbers have either built structures or hung signboards on the encroached land along the banks ... Read more

Unusual rain at end of monsoon

Just before the end of the monsoon, the country has been experiencing unusual October rains following three drier months in a row when the monsoon was supposed to be most active with heavy rainfalls. Usually, the country experiences a maximum of eight rainy days in October, the Met office website says. But this time around, ... Read more

Conqueror of odds

Pirojpur farmer prevails over salinity through innovation Defying the onslaught of salinity that had long been affecting rice cultivation, a farmer in Pirojpur is now excelling in fish and vegetable farming, setting an example for others to follow. “Making profits from the combined farming of fish and vegetables is a total shift from the loss ... Read more

Sylhet experiences this year’s highest rainfall

Sylhet experienced this year’s highest rainfall till date with over 247mm of rain falling in the nine hours preceding 3:00pm yesterday, states the regional Met office. Heavy rainfall since early morning caused waterlogging in different areas from two to five hours till 5:00pm, leading to a low presence of students in educational institutions and vehicles ... Read more

Jamuna devours part of Sirajganj town protection embankment

ABOUT 75-metre stretch of town protection embankment in Sirajganj was washed away by river Jamuna on Wednesday night. Locals and Water Development Board officials said that the concrete part of the guide-wall as well as its adjacent road on the embankment began to be eroded at about 10:00pm on Wednesday and the erosion continued till ... Read more

Erosion leaves thousands homeless

Floodwaters started receding but erosion by major rivers devoured vast areas leaving thousands of people homeless in several districts across the country. New Age correspondents depicted harrowing pictures of thousands of people rendered homeless by erosion in Faridpur, Chapainawabganj, Khulna, Sirajganj, Munshiganj, Manikganj, Barishal and Bogra caused by the Padma, Jamuna, Meghna and other major ... Read more

Sight to forget

Beautiful jhau woods along the beach now a torture to eyes The jhau woods along the Cox’s Bazar seashore are in decline, putting the future of the world’s longest sea beach in jeopardy. Setting up of illegal structures, indiscriminate felling of jhau trees[tamarisk], and leasing of land adjacent to the beach stand out as contributing ... Read more

Nalitabari people at high risk of arsenic

Alternative sources of water a dire need The people in Nalitabari upazila of Sherpur are at dangerous risk of arsenic contamination. There are about 2.5 lakh people in 12 unions of the upazila. A considerable number of these people are at high risk of arsenic. There are a total of 22,150 tube wells in the ... Read more

Deforestation causes embankment erosion in Sitakunda

Rampant deforestation on the coastal green belt at Sonaichhari union of Chittagong’s Sitakunda upazila for establishing ship breaking yards is causing the breakdown of the union’s embankment. Subsequently seawater from the Bay of Bengal is inundating the adjoining villages at every high tide, causing immense suffering to the residents. Nityananda Jaladas, resident of one of ... Read more

Eid brings no joy to the poor

In Arabic Eid means ‘festivity’. Eid-ul-Fitr, the biggest religious festival of the Muslims, is observed after a month-long ‘siam’ (fasting). Although Eid is all about feast and festivity, it does not carry the same meaning for the poor and homeless. On the day of Eid, people traditionally wear new clothes, eat delicacies, and enjoy the ... Read more