Sifayet Ullah

The Awami League has chosen to entrust  children of veteran party leaders  in six constituencies of Chattogram for the upcoming national polls. Reflecting a pattern seen in Bangladesh and across South Asian politics, these nominees, now the torchbearers of their political dynasties, include four re-nominees and two newcomers vying for victory under the “boat” symbol.

About a decade ago, different shipbreaking companies leased a portion of the coast in Kumira union of Chattogram’s Sitakunda upazila to set up yards, breaching a section of an earthen embankment.

The Karnaphuli Residential project, one of the oldest and major housing projects undertaken by the Chattogram Development Authority in south Chattogram, is still without any water supply, 30 years after its inception.

What were once walls with intricate terracotta motifs are now covered with mosses and weeds, a temple and a guesthouse located nearby were partially damaged -- this was what this correspondent saw when he visited the 150-year-old Panchkari Zamindar (landlord) Bari (palace).

Although more than 120 hills have vanished from the port city in four decades, no one has been put behind the bar for the offence in the last 20 years, thanks to legal loopholes.

Scenes of tilted buildings, residents being evacuated and owners facing financial losses, have become a regular occurrence in some areas of the port city.

A hill is being cut using an excavator, while a portion of another one has already been levelled -- this was what this correspondent saw during a visit to Sheikh Russel Aviary and Eco Park in Chattogram’s Rangunia upazila.

The Rural Electrification Board (Palli Bidyut) and the forest department are at loggerheads over connecting power cables through a forest reserve in Chattogram’s Fatikchhari upazila.

Bangladesh Railway started rebuilding Chowdhuryhat and Katirhat stations on the Chattogram-Nazirhat route in 2019. After four years, the construction is only halfway done, and the stations remain closed, causing daily difficulties for hundreds of passengers.

Encroachers have destroyed 95 acres of the Gohira mangrove forest in Chattogram’s Anwara upazila and turned the area into fish enclosures.

The residents of the southern parts of Chattogram district will finally have access to pure drinking water from December, thanks to the Bhandal Jhuri Water Supply Project.

Shikalbaha Canal, a major waterbody in south Chattogram directly connected to Karnaphuli and Sangu rivers, is struggling to survive amid rampant pollution.

Ruins of an ancient settlement, likely that of a renowned Buddhist vihar (educational institution), has been excavated in Biswamura area of Chattogram’s Karnaphuli upazila recently.

Engine boats are being operated in Mahamaya Lake, the second largest man-made lake in Bangladesh, posing a threat to the ecological diversity of the waterbody.

A section of Tulatoli Reserve Forest under Chunati range of Chattogram South Forest Division is being razed illegally to construct structures including houses.

Encroachers have reoccupied most of the railway land at CRB’s Tulatoli area in Chattogram city and built structures illegally, turning the scenic hilly area into a slum.

A portion of protected forest land in Sarta area under Chattogram (north) forest division in Fatikchhari upazila has been occupied illegally.

A pond in Chattogram city’s Mohora area is counting its breaths as builders continue to fill it up for the construction of a five-storey building.

Over 3,000 illegal structures have been constructed on nine hills owned by Bangladesh Railway in various parts of the port city, violating the law and endangering the hills.

Defying law, shipbreakers in Chattogram are breaking scrap vessels without obtaining clearance from the Department of Environment (DoE), putting the environment at risk.