Kongkon Karmaker

Md Shafiqul Islam, a potato trader in Dinajpur, kept around 2,000 bags of potatoes in cold storage this year in hopes of recovering his losses from the previous season.

The highways and roads of Rangpur are now crowded with the three-wheelers, including battery-run auto-rickshaws, when transport owners are observing strike “to ban” these small vehicles ahead of BNP’s rally in the city today (October 29, 2022).

The Collectorate Eidgah ground in Rangpur, which is the venue for today’s BNP divisional rally, was flooded with BNP supporters and activists this morning (October 29, 2022).

The Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) industrial estate in Dinajpur is causing untold sufferings for people living and working in the area as the rice mills present are pouring copious amounts of ash and other pollutants into the environment.

Perilla frutescens, an exotic oilseed plant with numerous health benefits, has high export potential as there is considerable global demand for the crop, especially in China, Korea and Japan, according to experts.

Twenty-six more bodies were recovered yesterday, taking the death toll from Sunday’s boat capsize in Panchagarh to 50, and rescuers fear the number may increase further as over 30 persons were missing. 

In 2013, the government imported 20 sets of DEMU (diesel–electric multiple unit) trains from China’s Tangshan Railway Vehicle Company Limited.

The two buses that collided head-on in Rangpur early yesterday, leaving at least eight dead and over 50 injured, should not have been on the roads at all as neither had route permits. 

The use of surface water has become the ultimate solution for irrigating croplands across the country as depleting underground reserves amid lesser rainfall and higher fuel costs have left farmers with little option.

State-owned rock producer Maddhapara Granite Mining Company Ltd (MGMCL) could not resume granite production for more than three months. The reason is a crisis of explosives, leaving the government to incur a production loss worth around Tk 1 crore per day.

North-bound trains are seeing an increase in passengers due to lack of public transport following the latest major fuel price hike in Bangladesh.

Diesel imports from Numaligarh Refinery Limited in India’s Golaghat district to an oil depot in Parbatipur upazila of Dinajpur will likely begin at the end of the year if the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline is completed on time, according to project officials.

The government move to increase the price of diesel by a high margin has caught many farmers off guard. 

Farmers who depend on rainwaters to grow Aman paddy in Dinajpur have been left distraught from early July owing to a drought-like situation in the absence of rains. 

It’s rainy reason in Bangladesh and agricultural land is supposed to be wet with monsoon rains by now.  

Hili land port in Hakimpur upazila of Dinajpur provides ample opportunity to facilitate cross-border trade between Bangladesh and India but its potential remains largely untapped even though both governments have taken a number of initiatives to this end.

The recent floods in northern Bangladesh are now affecting farmers in five districts of the greater Rangpur region as significant amounts of land in the economically disadvantaged area have gone underwater.

The use of machinery for agriculture, particularly tilling land, harvesting crops, threshing grains and packing produce, is rising in northern districts such as Dinajpur and Rangpur as it is cheaper and more efficient compared to manual farming methods, according the Department of Agricultural Extension.

The harvesting of Haribhanga, a variety of mango native to north-western districts such as Rangpur, will begin in the once Monga-stricken region on June 20, according to officials of the local administration.

Litchi growers and traders in northern districts such as Dinajpur are expecting good profits this season following two years of pandemic-induced losses as they are getting better prices for their produce with the market having gained momentum over the past two weeks.