Mirza Shakil

Jute growers in different upazilas of the district are becoming frustrated due to fall in jute price and high labour cost this season.

Amid heavy rains and onrush of water from upstream, Jamuna river erosion has turned into an all-devouring menace in Tangail.

Farmers in different upazilas of Tangail are delighted as the district sees bumper banana yield due to a favourable weather condition this season.

Thousands of people in Tangail Sadar upazila have been facing immense sufferings due to delay in construction of a bridge on Louhajang river.

Thousands of people are being deprived of different facilities as renovation work of Tangail-Aynapur road has remained incomplete for nearly seven months.

Erosion by the river Jamuna took a serious turn in the last few days, rendering several hundreds of families homeless, and devouring vast tracts of croplands and structures in Tangail’s Sadar, Bhuanpur, and Nagarpur upazilas.

Native fish stocks are in serious decline due to indiscriminate use of fishing nets nowadays.

Growers in Tangail have big smiles on their face as their off-season watermelons are fetching higher prices since demand has been good owing to the sweltering heat. 

An important bridge at Nirail village in Basail upazila that tilted just after completion of its construction work has not been reconstructed in the last five years.

Around 2,379 roadside trees are being cut for the development work of the Tangail-Aricha highway. These include mango, berry, jackfruit, mahogany, banyan and numerous other old trees.

Tangail, once known for its picturesque waterbodies, now finds itself in the clutches of an alarming environmental crisis. Over the past three decades, this district has been transformed into an unforgiving concrete jungle at the cost of  its rivers and open spaces.

People of west Tangail have been facing immense suffering due to the delay in the reconstruction of a bridge on Louhajang river, which collapsed after half its construction was completed about a year ago due to the negligence of the authorities and contractors.

Three government ponds are being filled in Tangail’s Santosh area for constructing a market in place of the kitchen market established by legendary political leader Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani.

The honey queen variety of pineapple, locally known as Joldungi, cultivated in the Madhupur Garo area has seen a better yield this year compared to the previous season thanks to favourable weather.

Erosion by the Jamuna has hit riverside villages in Tangail’s Nagarpur upazila hard.

Illegal sand extraction from Dhaleswari river in Tangail Sadar upazila’s Charabari area has put riverside villages and an important bridge connecting several char unions in danger of erosion.

Townspeople’s demand for a separate children’s park has not been fulfilled for decades.  

Illegal sand lifting from the Poulee river, a branch of Jamuna, in Tangail’s Kalihati upazila has been continued unabated.

Farmers across two coastal districts of Bangladesh, namely Patuakhali and Barguna, as well as Tangail are increasingly growing oilseed crops in a bid to profit from the ever-higher prices of edible oil.

Home-bound passengers travelling to the north for Eid this year may face the same old issue of heavy traffic jams at both ends of the Bangabandhu Bridge. Despite the concerns raised by transport workers, passengers and other parties concerned, the authorities have failed to provide assurance of a hassle-free journey.