Dwoha Chowdhury

Indiscriminate catching of fish fry in the haors of Sylhet region, including the protected Tanguar Haor in Sunamganj, has been posing a serious threat to the area’s ecosystem. Due to this illegal practice, many local breeds are becoming extinct, said fisheries experts and elderly fishers.

Anticipating an increased demand for food grain, a section of rice millers and wholesalers are exhibiting stockpiling tendencies, pushing up the price of the recently harvested Boro paddy.

An entomological survey team supporting Sylhet City Corporation’s (SCC) anti-mosquito drive found Aedes larvae at five locations of two wards in the city, as the drive resumed after being disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

It happens at a time when farmers are complaining of shortages of labourers due to the travel restrictions amid the nationwide shutdown enforced to fight the Covid-19 outbreak.

The government recently declared 70 percent subsidy for farmers of the haor region, up from the previous 50 percent, for the purchase of agriculture machinery.

Amid the coronavirus scare and threat of impending flash flood, farmers in the haor region of Sylhet Division are expecting a bumper Boro harvest this time.

While it may sound reassuring to hear that Sylhet division has 589 beds dedicated to treating Covid-19 patients in isolation centres. However, that enthusiasm might start to fade in the face of some details -- out of these 589, only two are ICU beds.

Inclement weather. Lack of buyers. Shortage of workers. And impending flashfloods. These very real developments, coupled with a belief that prices of their harvest are set to fall, have Boro farmers in Sylhet’s haor region looking down the barrel. The government-declared stimulus package and assurances of buying up a huge amount of paddy and rice, which are meant to help, also ring hollow to many farmers.

At this time when countrymen are in distress amid the nationwide shutdown but many MPs are not seen in their constituencies, one lawmaker from Sylhet -- Mahmud Us Samad Chowdhury, parliamentarian for Sylhet-3 constituency -- has been an exception.

A woman was diagnosed with Covid-19 days on Sunday night, days after giving birth to a child at Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital last Friday.

Like elsewhere, use of disposable gloves and masks has increased rapidly in Sylhet due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but most of the items are not being disposed of properly and thrown on roads, posing a serious health risk.

Md Moyeen Uddin, assistant professor at Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital (SOMCH), died of Covid-19 yesterday.

Allegations of irregularities and corruption are surfacing over the recently completed rehabilitation and maintenance work on more than 600 kilometres of different levees in Sunamganj.

With most places closed down, street animals which occupy urban spaces with us and often rely on scraps from people are having to go hungry. In Sylhet, people have taken it upon themselves to feed the monkeys at the shrine of Chashni Pir at Amberkhana area.

Marking World Autism Awareness Day, amid the shutdown to curb the coronavirus outbreak, Sylhet Art and Autism Foundation launches an online helpline for children with special needs.

Sylhet City Corporation (SCC) -- with the help of the government, councillors and locals -- is all set to support around 66,000 underprivileged families.

Days before the nation started to panic over the crisis of personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical professionals and sufficient resources for infected patients, a private medical college hospital in Sylhet was prepared.

Days before the nation started panicking due to the crisis of personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical professionals and medical resources for infected patients, a private medical college hospital was prepared.

The atrocities unfolded on women by Pakistani occupation forces during the War of Liberation in 1971 have left an indelible scar in the psyche of the nation. While the nation moves on leaving behind the trauma, it holds dear the glorious sacrifices the heroines and heroes of the country made during the nine-month-long struggle.

Amid a shortage of hand sanitizers against the growing demand, Carew and Co (Bangladesh) Ltd, the country’s sole state-owned distillery, has stepped forward to produce the alcohol-based solution for masses as part of its social responsibility.