Mintu Deshwara

Eighth grader Poli Malakar was sobbing. She feared that she might not be allowed to sit for the model tests as she had tuition due. It was the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) who eventually paved the way for her to sit for the exams.

An endangered green cat snake, sheltered at Bangladesh Bonyo Prani Sheba Foundation in Sreemangal upazila of the district, laid four eggs there on Monday, much to the enthusiasm of foundation officials as well as locals.

The contract made between tea workers and tea garden owners expired last year. They spent the last two years fighting for their minimum wage to be increased from Tk 85 per day to Tk 230. This would have brought their monthly cash wages from Tk 2,550 to TK 6,900, which is approximately equivalent to the minimum wages of the ready-made garments sector.

Two important bridges over the Monu river and a nearby embankment in Kulaura upazila of Moulvibazar are at risk due to extensive riverbed sand extraction just 500 metres from the bridges.

The approach road to Nolujur bridge in Jagannathpur upazila of Sunamganj collapsed on December 6 in 2017 but has not been repaired as yet.

Bamboo groves, poised magnificently like arched gateways, welcome visitors to the misty woodland of Lawachhara National Park, the final frontier of the old forests.

As flood water recedes, thousands of affected families, from two districts in Sylhet division, are returning home only to see their dwellings ravaged by the deluge.

It was supposed to be a good day for Nepurun Begum. The 50-year-old maid had worked extra hard in the last three months, hoping to please her family on Eid. She has a son and a daughter. They are 25 and 17 years respectively. They are both physically challenged and ever since her husband passed away, 15 years ago, she has been the sole earner of her family.

Heavy rain and onrush of water from the hills have badly damaged the roads in four upazilas of Sylhet and five upazilas of Moulvibazar, disrupting communication in the division and causing immense sufferings to the people of at least 50 unions.

Flood victims in the district are badly suffering from lack of pure drinking water although the overall flood situation has slightly improved with the decrease of water level of Manu and Dhalai rivers yesterday.

Fresh threat is looming over flash flood-affected district of Moulvibazar from the north with the surging Kushiyara River gradually weakening its embankment.

Thousands of people in Moulvibazar's five upazilas are facing a shortage of relief supplies following the flashflood.

Road link between Bangladesh and Tripura remain cut off as the bridge connecting Kailashahar to Moulvibazar collapsed due to onrush of flood waters.

For five days now, hundreds of people of Kulaura’s Sharifpur are struggling to make it through on the embankments, surviving only on puffed rice and unsafe drinking water.

Weaving is an integral part of the traditional Manipuri life. For their elegant, exquisite and colourful designs and textures, the handloom products are not only coveted by all, they also play a vital role in their economy.

A century-old government pond in Beanibazar municipality in Sylhet has become a safe breeding zone for mosquitoes as it has been turned into a waste dumping spot. The pond, covering 63 decimals of land, is owned by Sylhet Zila Parishad and is situated in the middle of Beanibazar municipality near Beanibazar Uttar Bazar Jame Mosque.

The public procurement of Boro paddy in Habiganj is facing a serious setback as the authorities concerned have managed to collect only one tonne of paddy in the last one month, saying the quality of the paddy is not up to the mark.

A large number of farmers in haor areas of Sunamganj are passing a worrying time as lack of sunlight causes problem to dry whatever Boro paddy they could save from the recent floods.

Recently, a theatrical performance by tea garden workers at the Deondi tea garden in the Chunarughat Upazila of Habiganj,

Almost a century ago, tea workers in Sylhet left their gardens and started a journey back to the lands of their origin -- Bihar, Odisha and Assam. It was a protest march they called “Mulluke Cholo” (Let's go back home). The protest was against the inhumane working conditions and torture at the hands of British owners.