Pinaki Roy

The Sundarbans have once again proved to be the key saviour of the country in times of natural calamity as the mangrove forest absorbed the fury of Cyclone Amphan, much as it had done before with similar forces of nature.

Thousands of people have been moved to storm shelters in 19 coastal districts of the country as Cyclone Amphan is set to make landfall this evening with heavy rainfall and storm surges above 10 feet.

Cyclone Amphan was gaining pace in the Bay yesterday and may hit Bangladesh coast near the Sundarbans in the early hours of tomorrow, the met office warns.

Amphan, the cyclone formed in the Bay of Bengal on Saturday, may lash the coastal districts in three days, upending social distancing and hygiene practices needed to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

With the severe cyclonic storm “Amphan” approaching the coast, the agricultural office has advised farmers in coastal districts to harvest all the paddy that have matured up to at least 80 percent matured.

Once the Boro harvest is completed across the country, the nation is unlikely to face cereal shortage in the next six months.

A shipbreaking company is set to illegally import a highly toxic ship for scrapping, risking workers’ health and environmental damage.

Shafiul Alam, a worker at a garment factory in coronavirus-hit Gazipur, returned to his village home in Pirojpur’s Bhandaria upazila on April 15.

The government is taking steps to increase food grain stock and help farmers get fair prices for their produce amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Amid allegations over theft of rice meant for poor, the government has postponed the open market sale (OMS) and taken an initiative to issue cards for lower-income people across the country to sell them rice at Tk 10.

The Forest Department is in fear of permanently losing around 16,000 acres of Sal forest in Mymensingh’s Bhaluka upazila as the land ministry recorded it as khas and private land.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has approved a masterplan to free all major rivers in and around Dhaka and Chattogram cities from encroachment and pollution by 2030.

The rotten stench emanating from the polluted Buriganga water hits the nostrils even before reaching the river’s bank.

The water was once so clear that you could see to the bottom. Locals used to drink water from the canal and also bathed in it. Now what one would find there is black liquid flowing down the river. It smells so bad that it is hard to stand beside it, said Tara Mia, an elderly man from Barabari village.

For last two years the authorities of Tannery Industrial Estate are polluting the Dhaleshwari river dumping liquid waste as their effluent treatment plant is not ready yet, now they are also polluting air by burning leather wastes in the bank of the Dhaleshwari.

After 34 years, the Joint Rivers Commission of Bangladesh and India will tomorrow update data on six common rivers and discuss a framework on sharing the waters of those.

The hazy skies of Dhaka city in the beginning of winter may seem like harbingers of the cold season. But what appears to be only mist or fog, is actually smog and dust.

A 250-bed hospital in Dhanmondi produces about 4,000 litres of liquid waste a day. The liquid is treated to ensure that it doesn’t spread infection when disposed of.

Many healthcare facilities across the capital have been breaching their legal obligations on safe disposal of medical waste, but a decade-old system is failing to hold them accountable.

He is an apparent big shot in the black market of medical recyclables. Probably in his late thirties, the man keeps close supervision over his business and is careful to leave no footprints behind.