S Dilip Roy

More than 500 students and teachers of two government schools have been suffering immensely as local farmers dry and process tobacco leaves on their campus premises in Lalmonirhat’s Aditmari upazila.

Just a few days ago, Zainal Mia (47), a farmer from Lalmonirhat’s Teesta-par, and his family were living in extreme poverty.

The Burimari land port has long been suffering from space shortage and traffic congestion, preventing businesses from Bangladesh from elevating trade with India, Bhutan and Nepal as its capacity has not expanded in line with rising commerce.

Farmers in char areas of Brahmaputra river in Chilmari upazila are spending Tk 83 for a litre diesel to irrigate their boro land instead of the government-fixed rate of Tk 80 enjoyed by mainland farmers.

Last year most farmers of Rangpur had no option but with a heavy heart let tomatoes rot in the fields as prices they were selling for were far from recouping labour and transportation costs.

Samiul Islam, a resident of Fulgachh village in Lalmonirhat sadar upazila, began his journey as a sole proprietorship several years ago by peddling sanitary products to low-income households in the area.

Around 20,000 farmers in Lalmonirhat and Kurigram who cultivated cauliflower and cabbage have been left pleasantly surprised by unexpected profits this year following significant losses in 2021, when nationwide lockdowns were imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Aklima Begum, 22, wife of farmer Mohor Ali of remote char ‘Karai Barisal’ in Chilmari upazila of Kurigram, gave birth to her first child four years ago suffering from various complications.

Although horse-drawn carts are a thing of the past in most parts of the world, these outdated buggies still facilitate movement across 450 char areas in Kurigram and Lalmonirhat.

The biggest peanut market in Rangpur is almost never found on the same spot two years in a row due to the changing waters of Brahmaputra river in Chilmari upazila of Kurigram.

Prafulla Chandra Das’ (48) fishing boat and nets have been drying out in the sun. His entire ancestry has been devoted to the same trade, and as such, Prafulla knows no other craft.

A fair of the Police Women Welfare Association (Punak) is being held in Lalmonirhat since January 12, despite the district being at high risk of coronavirus infection.

Anwar Hossain has been trapping and killing rats since he was 16.

It has been 11 years since Felani, a Bangladeshi teenager, was shot dead by a member of India’s Border Security Force and left hanging from the barbed fence of the border along Kurigram, but her family is still waiting for justice.

Today marks the 11th anniversary of Felani Khatun killing. On this day in 2011, Bangladesh woke up to the dreadful image of the teenage girl hanging from the barbed fence at the India border.

Despite having no fingers to grip a pen, Mobarak Ali, 16, has passed last year’s SSC examination obtaining GPA-3.84. Despite an insurmountable odd, Mobarak clung to the hope to pursue his education. He would write with his leg up to class two. Later, he learnt how to write gripping pen with his wrists.

Constructed in 1916 during the British rule, it was initially used as a police station. But eventually, it started decaying, and soon enough rainwater began to seep in through the roof. After it was declared abandoned, a new police station building was built next to old one.

Milon Islam (25), a visually impaired student who received a national award in tabla in 2014, has been passing his days amid hardship and uncertainty over his further studies. Due to the lack of financial support, his aspiration for higher studies is getting blurred.

The larvae of black soldier flies, a common insect in the Stratiomyidae family, can be used as organic poultry and fish feed, providing farmers with a cheap alternative to the comparatively high priced products currently available.

“For the last 18 years, there has been not a single day when I have not reached out to my readers with books. I am on a journey to build a knowledge-based society,” says Bikash Chandra Roy Tarun.