Dipankar Roy

For a growing city of 1.7 million people, most of whom are constantly on the move, there are only 19 public toilets in Khulna.

Parimal Roy, a middle aged small trader, was sobbing beside Khulna city’s Rupsha Kitcken market. His complexion had turned pale, while some people were trying to console him. He simply kept repeating how all of his dreams had turned to ashes.

On Saturday, Khulna city’s Shibbari intersection was in utter chaos. It was a free-for-all, as vehicles only stopped when police officers jumped in front of them, risking their lives.

As soon as winter begins, the Sundarbans sees an influx of tourists who come to enjoy the tranquil and exotic atmosphere of the world’s largest mangrove forest.

Khulna’s Mayur River has been gradually shrinking due to faulty design of a bridge on it by the Roads and Highways Department (RHD).

There’s no city bus service for 1.7 million residents of Khulna for the last four years.

Taltala canal, once a two kilometre-long vital waterbody flowing through Khulna city, is approaching extinction due to indiscriminate garbage dumping.

The Bastuhara-Boyra Housing Market was constructed 10 long years ago. But even after all this time, the Khulna City Corporation (KCC) owned market is yet to launch.

Imagine a dumpster sitting right opposite the main gate of a hospital, spreading a ghastly stench. Those who dump waste here don’t even bother to make sure their trash is placed at the bin, which means there’s at least a few feet of waste around the dumpster. Even though the bin has remained at such a sensitive spot for years, no steps have been taken to remove it.

The Maheshwarpasha Art School was established in 1904 by artist Shashibhushan Pal, the first of its kind for the East Bengal region.

The Mayur, one of the main freshwater rivers of Khulna, is at death throes due to continuous encroachment and unchecked pollution.

Almost 400 tonnes of waste remain uncollected in Khulna City Corporation (KCC) streets and drains every day, causing health risk and environmental hazards for city’s 1.7 million dwellers.

As the dawn breaks, agricultural fields in Gadkhali, a remote village in the southwest district Jashore, unfold themselves with abundance of colours, calling upon nature lovers to come inside and feel the beauty of nature.

Right on the bank of the Kapotakkha stands a quintessential fishermen village named Hitampur. Poverty is quite rampant. As Manik Bandyopadhyay once wrote, “God does not come to Jelepara (fishermen’s neighbourhood)”, it is, indeed, an everyday battle.

The cost for an important road project in Khulna city is likely to see a hefty Tk 160 crore increase, after the project was delayed due to land acquisition issues.

For many in their 30s and above, the word newsprint occupies a good part of memories of their schooldays.

The mosquito problem of Khulna city is becoming more and more menacing by the day. Right after sunset, the insects start swarming the city’s ponds, bushes, water bodies, and drains. Soon enough they start thronging households too.

Rampant river-grabbing by influential persons mixed with reluctance on the authorities’ side to take steps against them, squeezed into a corner, the Bhairab river stands as a major waterbody being completely given to grabbing and pollution.

“Many are leaving this area and going someplace else to live. Their homes are submerged and they have no means of livelihood here. It is hard even to get drinking water sometimes.”

For 10 years, the MA Bari Link Road, adjacent to Sonadanga bus stand in Khulna city, has remained completely unnavigable.