Climate change impacts in Bangladesh
With the Himalayas to the north and the Bay of Bengal to the south, Bangladesh sits on one of the world’s largest and most densely populated deltas, where the Jamuna, Padma and Meghna rivers converge.
Bangladesh
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Power, water crisis makes life difficult in Rajshahi
Frequent power outages coupled with scorching heat have made life difficult in the Rajshahi city. Load shedding and voltage fluctuation are hampering official activities, industrial production and household works seriously. Erratic power supply also disrupts water supply in the city. Due to power failure and load-shedding, the water supply division of the Rajshahi City Corporation cannot supply sufficient water to the city dwellers, the corporation sources said.
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Moulvibazar bamboo forests face destruction
With a massive flowering of bamboos in Moulvibazar, uncertainty looms large about employment of 50 thousand labourers as the unusual phenomenon is destroying bamboo clusters. As the monsoon sets in, the bamboo plants will be totally destroyed, forest officials said, adding that the situation will cause the government lose Tk 1 crore yearly revenue. Local people consider appearance of flower in bamboo plants as a bad omen that results in food crisis. As bamboo plants have been covered with golden-colour flowers, usual scene of the groves has changed.
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50pc under 5 children underweight
World Food Programme (WFP) Bangladesh organises a walk in the city yesterday. Photo: STAR Hundreds of children, UN officials and their partners yesterday walked the streets of the major cities, including the capital of the country calling for national and global efforts to end hunger and malnutrition of children. Holding colourful festoons and banners and wearing T-shirts that carried slogans 'End Hunger- Walk the World', they walked to raise awareness and funds for WFP to provide school meals to the millions of children who attend schools hungry everyday.
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22pc above 40 affected with chronic pulmonary diseases
Bangladesh Lung Foundation and University of Development Alternative (UODA) jointly organised a seminar on UODA campus in the city yesterday commemorating the World No Tobacco Day. World Health Organisation (WHO) also assisted the programme. Speakers at the seminar titled 'Youth free from Tobacco' said, "Some 21.6 percent people aged above 40 in the country are affected with chronic pulmonary diseases related to smoking. So it is a must to stop using tobacco right now, as smoking never brings any positive result for our health.'
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1.5 lakh die of cancer a year
Experts at a discussion yesterday said there are around 12 lakh cancer patients in the country and two lakh new patients are added annually of which 1.5 lakh patients die due to the disease. If detected earlier, 90 percent cancer is curable especially in the case of cervical and breast cancer, they added. Experts said this at the discussion organised by Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM) at the National Museum auditorium to mark the World Cancer Survivors' Day.
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Regional health forum: protecting health from climate change
This regional health forum includes the special issue on world health day 2008 theme: protecting health from climate change.
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Grabbers turn Ichhamoti into canal in Pabna town
Ichhamoti River flowing through Pabna town has narrowed down to a canal as unscrupulous people have grabbed over 60 acres out of 84-acre river areas in the town during the last several decades. After takeover of the present caretaker government in January last year, the district administration demolished several illegal structures beside the river and fresh survey also started to recover the river areas but the task seems tough as many illegal occupiers have already made land documents.
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Call to increase public transport
Speakers at a discussion meeting suggested providing fuel subsidy for transport sector and increasing the number of public transport to ease suffering of the commuters. They also suggested giving priority to bus service in the transport planning because people from middle and lower income group use buses for their communications. The meeting was organised by Save the Environment Movement in the city on Thursday. Maruf Rahman of WBB Trust presented the keynote paper at the discussion presided over by Prof KM Moniruzzaman of Urban and Regional Planning Department.
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Open pit mining to affect food security in Dinajpur
Leaders of National Oil, Gas, Power, Mineral Resources and Port Protection Committee said here yesterday the food security will be affected in the district if the coal in Phulbari is extracted through open pit mine method. They said about 40 square mile land in four upazilas in the district will be damaged in the process. The committee leaders were addressing a meeting titled, 'People's Demand and Phulbari Coalmine,' held yesterday at Rabeya Community Centre at Phulbari where three persons were killed during a carnage there on August 26, 2006.
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Bangladesh in top 10 countries of smokers
The World Health Organisation said Friday that only a total ban on all forms of tobacco advertising can stop the