Unplanned embankment poses threat to river
The ongoing construction of an embankment on the Sandhya river in Barishal has sparked outrage among locals who believe the structure will damage the river crucial to their livelihoods. Locals in Banaripara
Daily Star (Bangladesh)
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Flood situation deteriorates further
As the water of the Padma is swelling continuously, the flood situation of different areas, including Faridpur, Munshiganj, Manikganj, Madaripur, Shariatpur and Dohar and Nawabganj of Dhaka, deteriorated further yesterday. The situation on the other hand in many other areas has started to improve, as the rivers Brahmaputra and Jamuna have started to fall. Around 2000 hectares of land of fresh areas in Faridpur inundated yesterday, including four unions of Sadar upazila, two unions of Charvadrason and one in Sadarpur, due to continuous increase of water of the Padma.
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Cultivate sweet potato to ensure food security
Cultivation of sweet potato in the coastal char lands could help ensure food security, said the experts at a seminar on Monday. They said char lands, which run risks of natural calamities like cyclone and tidal surge, are suitable and cost-effective for growing nutritious potato during the dry season. The international seminar was organised jointly by Brac and the Centre for International Potato (CIP) at Brac Centre Inn in the capital.
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Widespread use of chemicals in Modhupur orchards
Widespread use of harmful hormones in orchards, especially those for pineapple and banana in hilly Modhupur and Ghatail upazilas in Tangail district, is posing serious health hazards for human. The practice is also causing serious damage to environment and biodiversity. The two upazilas produce around 1,50,000 tonnes of pineapples a year but famous Modhupur pineapple is losing its taste as different kinds of harmful hormones and chemicals are used to increase the yield, ripen the fruits early and make them look larger.
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Deal to provide tele-health services
Japan Bangladesh Friendship Medical Services Limited and Teletalk Bangladesh Limited have signed a deal yesterday to provide round-the-clock tele-health services to the Teletalk subscribers. The subscribers would enjoy tele-health services by dialling 10600 from the Teletalk numbers. Furthermore, courtesy of the deal, they would be able to make appointments with the physicians and get ambulance service, on call doctor, on call pathology, on call nursing and on call physiotherapy services.
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More low-lying areas inundated as flood situation worsens
The flood situation of the country deteriorated yesterday as several rivers were flowing above their danger marks and a number of them continued to swell and burst their banks. More low-lying areas of the country were flooded yesterday and the situation may worsen during the next few days. The Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) yesterday said six rivers were flowing above their danger marks at seven points and 38 other points saw rise in water levels.
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'Land to landless is a constitutional right'
Over 5000 landless people at a memorial meeting yesterday urged the government to distribute khas lands among landless people, saying it is their constitutional right. They also demanded arrest and punishment of land grabbers who shot dead Shaheed Jayeda Khatun, a leader of landless people at Baburabad in Kaliganj upazila on July 27 in 1998 as the landless demanded khas land.
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Floods around the corner Early warning sounded (Editorial)
WE believe, given the latest information, the flood situation seems to be unfolding rather rapidly in the country. We should face the facts squarely that large areas under Netrakona, Pabna, Rangpur, Faridpur and Khulna districts are getting inundated as water level of the Padma, the Jamuna and the Teesta is rising steadily. Already 10,000 people have been affected in Faridpur and hundreds of acres of cropland have gone under water. In Khulna district a number of embankments have been washed away by floodwater thereby rendering hundreds of people homeless.
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In search of safe water
PEOPLE need clean water and sanitation to maintain their health. Water also sustains ecological systems and provides an input into the production systems that maintain livelihoods. Water security is an integral part of a broader conception of human security. In broad terms, water security means ensuring that every person has access to enough safe water to lead a healthy life, while maintaining the ecological systems that provide water and also depend on water.
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WFP Country Director visits erosion victims in Haimchar
WFP Country Director in Bangladesh John Aylieff visited river erosion affected areas in Haimchar upazila in Chandpur yesterday. He was accompanied by WFP Deputy Country Director Edward Kallon and Programme Advisor Tariq Mehmood Awan. During the visit to affected areas bank in Telirmore, he was over whelmed to see the devastations caused by the mighty river Meghna. Panicky victims urged WFP officials to help stop the river erosion immediately and to give financial aid (stipend) to affected students.
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ADB to lend $170m to face food crisis
The Asian Development Bank will lend Bangladesh $170 million to help cope with a rapid rise in food prices. The loan, part of a package with other multilateral aid donors, "will ensure access to food supply for those hardest hit by recent natural disasters in Bangladesh and the rapid increase in food prices," the ADB said in a statement yesterday. ADB funding will provide support to Bangladeshi government "safety net programmes" intended to ensure that some five million poor people get access to food.