S Dilip Roy

Shafiul Alam Sarker of Mostofi Gobdha village in Kurigram's Rajarhat upazila has set a laudable example of self-employment through koel farming alongside inspiring others to follow suit.

Over twenty thousand people at 40 villages in chars and river basins in five upazilas were marooned by flash flood caused by rise in the water levels of the Teesta and Dharla rivers yesterday.

A chartered accountant of Dulali village in Bhelabari union under Aditmari upazila is encouraging farmers to cultivate tea instead of tobacco on their fields in the plainland by cultivating tea himself and earning good profit.

Residents of Dhubni village in the Teesta river basin area of Hatibandha upazila rebuilt a collapsed dyke with their own efforts and funds and assistance from the local administration as the district Water Development Board (WDB) did not any steps to build the collapsed dyke.

Aditmari Upazila Fire Station has not started operation as construction of the building is yet to be completed even four years after construction started.

As a result of protesting against drug abuse, 50-year-old Mominul Islam has been lamed. He can't move his left hand and right leg

Farming activities at Fulgachh village in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila have taken a turn for the better, changing the economic fate of its people.

Almost all the 320 families at Parshuram village of Chandrapur union in Lalmonirhat's Kaliganj upazila earn their livelihood by making and selling bamboo made things, especially fishing tools.

The commercial cattle farmers in the district are worried due to price fall of the animals in the local markets, especially in view of the high cost of fodder and huge labour spent for them.

The rates are fixed. Every ten-wheeler truck has to pay Tk 800. A six-wheeler truck pays Tk 500. But the receipt given to truck drivers on the way to the Burimari land port in Lalmonirhat's Patgram upazila is marked Tk 35. For the last few years and despite complaints to the police and local administration, a private syndicate continues to collect illegal tolls from cargo trucks destined for the Indian border.

A cheated jobseeker lodged a case with Aditmari Police Station on Monday night, accusing three alleged cheaters of taking money from five jobseekers but giving them fake appointment letters of Bangladesh Railways.

The traditional method of catching fish with bamboo made fishing trap, locally called teprai, is still popular among the people in the district and even Rangpur region.

Only a week ago, all the 18 rivers, including Teesta and Dharla, in Lalmonirhat were completely dried up and had a bad impact in the livelihood of locals as well as agriculture and environment.

Zinc-enriched Boro paddy BRRI-62 and BRRI-74 varieties invented by Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) see successful farming

Illegal stone crushing is causing environmental and noise pollution in Burimari land port area under Patgram upazila, but it has continued unabated in spite of drives by mobile courts against the crushers.

A large number of people in the district are engaged in earning their bread by hauling goods in wagons drawn by tractors.

Potato farmers in the district are unhappy as the vegetable is being sold at less than production cost in the local markets.

The 'tyre game' is still very popular among the children in the Teesta river char (landmass emerging from riverbed) areas of the district

China farming is growing in popularity among farmers in char areas of the Teesta, Brahmaputra, Dharla and Dudhkumar rivers in Lalmonirhat and Kurigram.

Lalmonirhat brick kiln owners are allegedly cheating customers as well as contractors by supplying bricks that are smaller than