Author: Abida Moula

Plight of Aila victims continues unabated in Khulna

Khulna Correspondent

   Khulna, 15 March, 2017 :

   Most of the Aila survivors have lost their houses and other belongings in the cyclone and taken refuge on the embankment in Kayra upazila.

   The cyclone victims once received Tk 3,000 per head from the government to repair their houses. But that amount was spent meeting their daily needs.

   Some of the men and women are engaged in repairing the damaged dam and are getting a small daily allowance. But the old are unable to join this work and are mainly starving.

   Ayesha, a mother of two children who left their parents two years ago, said she could not join the dam repairing work due to old age.

   Initially there were some aid from NGOs and the government for the victims. Now the flow of aid has suddenly stopped, though the fate of victims did not improve.

   Most of the survivors now fish in the river to earn a little livelihood as there is no effective rehabilitation program for them.

   A large number of people have already migrated elsewhere with the hope of a job. Every day more people are leaving the area.

Illegal grabbing of rivers go unabated in NarayanganjNarayanganj Correspondent Narayanganj, 5 July, 2016 : In Shitalakhya, illegal grabbing and filling up of rivers and making false documents with the help of dishonest land officials continues unabated. Despite tough laws, the grabbers could not be resisted. In some cases the government agencies themselves violated the laws and filled up rivers and other water bodies. By this time, most of the areas of Shitalakhya have gone into the grasp of the land grabbers. Brick fields, shops, docks etc. are established by grabbing the water land. “Once somebody fills up a portion of a river or wetland, it losesits original character”, said Rizwana Hasan, one of the college teachers. ‘Besides, it creates hindrance to the free movement of water transports. The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) should also take effective steps against this practice.’

Poor Condition of the National Zoo

  Staff Correspondent : Many spectators come to visit the National Zoo at Mirpur, Dhaka. Most of the spectators become disappointed to see the miserable condition of the zoo. At the entrance-gate, there is a cage of monkeys but truly speaking, the cage is kept dirty and all the monkeys live in a polluted environment and most of them are weak. The lion’s cage is in the same condition. During my visit there some pieces of rotten meat were found on the floor of the cage. The lion too looked very feeble. The Royal Bengal Tigers in another cage have lost their real appearance. The people coming in the zoo could hardly recognize whether they were Royal Bengal Tigers or not. Other animals in the zoo are in the same state.

   One of the officers of the National Zoo said, “These wild animals cannot adjust themselves to this new environment because they are born in the wild and so they should stay wild. They look weak although they eat sufficient food.” Another officer said, “Sometimes we can’t supply sufficient food to the animals because the number of animals has increased now. So the budget of food-supply should be increased without delay. Otherwise, almost all the wild animals’ life will be in danger.”

Germany win their fourth FIFA World Cup

   Sports Correspondent : The FIFA World Cup- 2014 ended with the final match between Germany and Argentina. Germany defeated Argentina 1-0 in extra time. Mario Gotze scored the goal. He collected Andre Schurrle’s cross from the left on his chest before volleying a high left-footed shot into the net. The match was the third final between the two countries, a World Cup record, after their 1986 and 1990 matches. The match was also billed as the world’s best player Lionel Messi versus the world’s best team Germany.

   Before the match Germany had reached the World Cup final seven times (six times as West Germany from 1954 to 1990), winning three (1954, 1974, 1990) and being runners up four times 1966, 1982, 1986, 2002). On the other hand, Argentina had reached four finals, winning twice (1978, 1986) and being runners-up twice (1930, 1990).

   This is the first World Cup won by a European team in the Americas. The victory meant that three consecutive World Cups have been won by teams from the same continent, following Italy (2006) and Spain (2010). The first time this has happened in the World Cup history. With the win, Germany qualified for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.

   Both the teams got some opportunities to score but failed. Especially fortune did not favour Argentina because they created some easy chances but they could not utilize them.

   It was one of the most exciting matches of the FIFA World Cup- 2014.

Rally held against Eve-teasing in Patuakhali

Patuakhali Correspondent

   Patuakhali, 12 March, 2017 : Different social and human rights organizations yesterday arranged a rally in the town to protest against recurring of Eve-teasing in the locality.

   Hundreds of people from all walks of life joined the rally and took an oath to resist any incident of Eve-teasing by anyone.

   The rally started from the Patuakhali Government Girls’ College and ended at the Central Shaheed Minar. The Principal of the college, the Deputy Commissioner and the Superintendent of Police attended the rally that marched the main roads of the town.

   After the rally the Deputy Commissioner and the Police Super asked the students of all girls’ schools and colleges to inform them if anyone tries to tease them anywhere.

   The Principal of the college asked the district administration to launch frequent mobile court raids in and around the girls’ institutions.

   A significant number of students from boys’ schools and colleges also took part in the rally. They also took an oath that they would not tease any girl and rather resist any such harassment against women.

   The organizers thanked everyone to make their rally a success and promised to arrange more awareness raising programmes in future.

Anthrax hits Sirajganj, affects livelihood

Sirajganj Correspondent

   Sirajganj, 5 April, 2017 : At least 35 people of Chithulia village in Shahjadpur upazila have contracted anthrax, evoking great tension in the locality.

   Some villagers claim they are still unaware of the symptoms of anthrax as the number of awareness raising programmes is scarce.

   The government has yet to send sufficient vaccines to the affected areas, making the residents of Belkuchi, Kamarkhand and Shahjadpur upazilas vulnerable in the fight against an outbreak.

   The businesses in these areas have also taken a hefty blow. The supply of milk has waned drastically, especially in Shahjadpur, where the trading of milk is a chief source of livelihood.

   “There is nothing to be worried about as the chances of mortality is pretty much nil,” assures Prof Shamshad Murtaza, Chairman of the veterinary department, Bangladesh Agriculture University.

   During a visit to the affected areas, it was found that the cattle were not periodically vaccinated and dead animals were disposed of in the rivers or open places.

   This ill practice helps spread the disease, experts warn. Lack of awareness among farmers is also one of the reasons behind the spread of the bacterium, they add.

Blood donation camp held at Kazi Sirajul Islam Mohila College in Faridpur

Faridpur Correspondent

   Faridpur, Boalmari 8 April, 2017 : A one-day blood donation camp was arranged yesterday at Kazi Sirajul Islam Mohila College at Boalmari, Faridpur on the occasion of the World Health Day.

   The Staff Council, Rover Scouts, BNCC and Girl’s Guide jointly organised the camp in cooperation with the Sandhani Blood Centre, Faridpur Medical College unit.

   The Principal of the college inaugurated the camp as the chief guest. The Principal in his speech said donated blood can save the life of a serious patient. He urged the students and teachers to step forward and donate blood regularly.

   Every physically fit person can donate blood once in every four months, he added.

   A good number of teachers and students donated blood at the camp. Inspired by the move, some locals also came forward and donated blood.

   As many as 45 bags of blood were collected from the camp. Besides this, the members of Sandhani also provided free blood group tests for the students.

Science fair held at Adamjee Cant. College

   Staff Correspondent : A grand science fair was held at Adamjee Cantonment College in the capital with the aim of promoting science and removing fear of the discipline from students’ minds.

   The Principal of Adamjee Cantonment College inaugurated the three-day fair at the college compound with the slogan “Promote science, remove darkness”.

   At least 30 colleges from Dhaka and elsewhere took part in the fair as teams. Each team consisted of five members who displayed at least one of their own scientific creations. Each team got their own separate stall for presentation of their projects.

   The fair was open for all. Students from the participating colleges and other institutions came to visit the fair. The participants presented their projects before the audience with patience.

   After three days of display, the Principal of Adamjee Cantonment College presented awards among the winning teams.

   Besides the demonstrations, the fair arranged science quiz, documentary film show and scientific book exhibition for the viewers.

Population Explosion Hinders National Development

   Staff Reporter : Population explosion in Bangladesh is a major obstacle to national development, said speakers at a conference held at Ruposhi Bangla Hotel yesterday.

   The Planning Minister attended the seminar styled “Population Explosion is the root obstacle to National Progress” as the chief guest.

   The minister stressed the need for checking growth of the country’s population to ensure sustainable development.

   “Over population growth is a major barrier to the country’s development. At any cost, we have to bring back the growth rate close to zero,” he said while addressing the daylong workshop in the city.

   National Planning and Development Academy (NPDA) organized the seminar attended by several noted population experts.

   Chaired by NPDA Director General, the seminar was addressed by Economics Division chief of Planning Commission Dr Shamsul Alam and NPDA Director Fatema Zannat.

   The NPDA DG said agricultural land is declining gradually due to development work and urbanization to keep pace with the population growth.

Impacts of climate change on the people of southern part of Bangladesh

   Staff Correspondent : Bangladesh is particularly vulnerable to climate change. The entire country is basically a vast delta. It has always left the country at the mercy of weather. Bangladesh as a low-lying country has become the worst victim of climate change. The following findings were made after a survey on the impacts of climate change in southern region.

  1. Disappearing seasons

   Seasons are disappearing due to climate change. Summer and rainy seasons are prolonging , whereas winter is shrinking. The change in season patterns is affecting the health of the people.

  2. Salty water intrusion

   About 8.3 lakh hectares of cultivable land has been damaged by saline water intrusion from the Bay of Bengal.

  3. River bank erosion            

   River bank erosion is increasing day by day making thousands of people homeless.

  4. Drought

   Huge amount of crops are being damaged due to drought every year.

  5. Floods

   Thousands of tones of rice are damaged due to floods every year. Besides, thousands of people get marooned because of floods.