Order of the National Green Tribunal (Eastern Zone Bench, Kolkata) in the matter of In Re: Sinking Ba’deshi vessel dumps toxic fly ash in river near Ghoramara, shows video shared by panchayat member News item published in the Times of India Kolkata Section dt 17.02.2025 dated 29/04/2025. West Bengal Pollution …
The Bangladesh Jatiya Sangsad (parliament) will pass a new labour code this winter, says a Panos report. The code proposes to reform 44 labour laws by broadly categorising them and removing their inconsistencies. The changes drafted by the National Labour Law Commission are: waiving of restrictions on employment of women …
Bangladesh's jute industry has hit a rough patch. The crop's price has reportedly nosedived to an "abnormally" low rate of US$ 4-5 per 38 kg in the primary market, against a production cost of US$ 7 for 38 kg. While India is manufacturing diverse products, including industrial and coarse textiles, …
A Bangladesh High Court order brought a doctors' strike to a grinding halt, In response to a writ petition filed by Mohiuddin Farooque, secretary general of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association, a mandatory injunction was issued on October 4, directing the 2-week strike to be discontinued immediately. The doctors were …
An international panel of engineers and environmentalists, set up to oversee Bangladesh's Flood Action Plan, has criticised the draft "final report" on the plan. The report says that the total bill for the 162 projects will be US $7 billion, against the $1 billion recommendation of donors, according to New …
SOON after the euphoria of the Green Revolution in India subsided, it became clear that the high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of rice and wheat were not the answer to the problem of foodgrain scarcity. The planting of HYV seeds, in fact, resulted in more agricultural problems. HYVs of rice required more …
Rampant deforestation in Chittagong is worrying Bangladesh government authorities. According to the country's forest department, indiscriminate logging has rendered barren at least 1,620 ha of private forest land in the Chittagong district alone in the current year. Rapid urbanisation is the major factor behind the deforestation. Trees are being mowed …
Money lenders continue to exercise an iron grip on the fragile economy of rural Bangladesh. A recent survey conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics reveals that rural borrowers prefer to take loans from village money lenders rather than commercial banks. The rural credit survey on around 15 million households,shows …
The Ganges: A Dying River (13 minutes, directed by Nazneen Azmi) is a condemnation of India's control over the Ganges waters, thanks to the the Farakka barrage. It has been produced by Hasna Moudud, team co-ordinator of the NGO Women for Water Sharing, with the help of the Foundation Pour …
There was something about the sea that sent a shiver through Kamal Hossain. The colour of the water was not the usual emerald green but had a muddier hue -- something unusual for the Bay of Bengal in April. There was also a lot of foam in the water. The …
When the cyclone slammed into Bangladesh on April 29 earlier this year, the anxiety in many quarters of the world was especially heightened in anticipation of huge fatalities. Exactly to the day 3 years ago, a similar ill wind had left more than 150,000 dead in its wake. It is …
BREAKING new ground where governments have feared to tread, nongovernmental research groups from India, Bangladesh and Nepal have suggested that an "integrated approach" may be the only way to calm the turbulence over the sharing of river waters. "We have tried to transcend national perspectives and have outlined the immense …
BANGLADESH'S jute industry may finally see better days. In what Bangladesh industry minister A M Zahiruddin Khan calls a technological breakthrough, the country's scientists have developed the knowhow to manufacture packaging papers, hardboard and even a soft fibre akin to silk, using green jute plants. Bangladesh, once the world's biggest …
THE Grameen Bank - a rural credit scheme in Bangladesh - is making waves. The bank, the brainchild of economist Muhammad Yunus, advances loans to the poorest sections of the society and reached out to more than 1.6 million people in the last decade. Inspired by its success, Grameen Bank …
Spoilt milk Nestle Lanka, the Sri Lankan subsidiary of a multinational food firm, has had to send back a consignment of radioactive milk powder imported from Poland. In November 1993, Sri Lankan customs officials found the milk powder contained more radioactive particles than permissible. Sri Lanka resumed checks on imported …
STUDIES suggest that countries can reduce birth rates significantly, without waiting for development to make an impact, by promoting modern contraceptive methods. Birth rates are falling in countries too poor for development to have stabilised population growth. Between 1970 and 1991, fertility rates declined from 7 to 5.5 children per …
Who organised this meeting and what was the specific purpose of this convention? The meeting was convened by the Global Infrastructure Research Foundation (GIRF) of Japan -- a body set up 10 years ago, with the Japanese government and business community as members, to sponsor very large infrastructures spanning countries …
BANGLADESH'S Grameen Bank -- a cooperative banking system with easy loan repayment conditions -- has inspired US President Bill Clinton. When he was governor of Arkansas, Clinton launched the Goodfaith Fund, modelled after Grameen. Now, he plans to launch a similar scheme on a national level to extend lending to …
ARSENIC pollution of groundwater in West Bengal is reportedly threatening 13 border districts in Bangladesh as well. Some people are said to have died because of the pollution in West Bengal, says a Panos report. Bangladesh scientists have found arsenic in water samples collected from the bordering districts, adds the …
AS PART of its literacy campaign, Bangladesh has started a food for education programme, under which a poor family will get 15 kg of cereal a month if one child goes to school, reports Panos. This would be an incentive for parents to send to school children who are otherwise …
SCIENTISTS, physicians and surgeons in Bangladesh have formed a human tissue bank with the aim of persuading the government to remove legal hurdles in collecting human body parts for treatment, reports Panos. At present, only blood and eye collection is legal. In Pakistan, too, there are problems. Though more and …
