Sohrab Hossain

The pandemic has ruined livelihoods of many hardworking honest people, but it apparently could not stop those who had been repeatedly feasting on public money.

Coastal fishermen, especially those fishing at sea, are passing days amid much hardship, facing the coronavirus pandemic, super cyclone Amphan and lastly the ongoing 65-day-long ban on fishing while the compensation provided by the government is too small to meet their requirement.

Kuakata municipality in Kalapara upazila under Patuakhali suffers severe waterlogging during the rains every year, thanks to the abysmal drainage system in the famous tourist centre.

The cyclone Amphan destroyed a number of households and vast tract of cropland. It also crushed the last strands of hope for many vegetable farmers in Kalapara upazila of the district amid ithe Covid-19 pandemic.

The authorities of Sikder Resort and Villas keep building a structure near the Kuakata beach defying a removal notice issued by the local land office almost a year ago.

The onslaught of super cyclone Ampan on May 20 wrought havoc to the large tamarisk plantation in Shuvoshandhya beach, a tourist spot in Barguna’s Taltoli upazila, uprooting about 25,000 trees on 10 hectares of land and damaging the road connecting the spot.

A team of doctors under the banner of “Patuakhalibasir Daktar” (Doctors for the People of Patuakhali) are providing telemedicine services to the people of the district, facilitating treatment for general patients during the adverse situation amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

While the administration is struggling to check the spread of Covid-19, some unscrupulous people did not miss the ‘opportunity’ to occupy land on the western bank of the Sheakathi river on Patuakhali-Galachipa route in Phedainagar area of Jainkathi union of Patuakhali Sadar upazila.

A shut-down is being enforced across the country to prevent the spread of coronavirus and tourist spots, including Kuakata’s beaches, have also been closed. With human activity at these spots grinding to a halt, nature has found ways to flourish.

Navigability problem in Lohalia and Kobai rivers, two key channels of Dhaka-Patuakhali river route, remains a nuisance for operators and passengers.

Locals including a good number of students have to cross Boalia canal between Ratneshwar and Panpatti villages in Patuakhali’s Galachipa upazila amid risk on a small country boat locally known as ‘kheya’.

Hundreds of electric poles, now standing in the middle of the road due to widening of a 21-kilometre regional highway in Barguna, causes trouble for vehicular movement, in addition to disturbance in the road renovation work.

In 2016, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina made a promise of building a bridge at Patuakhali’s Mirzaganj upazila over Payra river to a to a class-4 student, who wrote to her with an earnest request.

Massive use of topsoil for brick manufacturing badly affects fertility of agricultural lands in Amtali upazila of Barguna district.

When the topic of menstruation is still considered somewhat a taboo in the country, the district administration of Barguna has come forward with a bold move to ensure proper adolescent health practices among students in the district.

A section of fishermen have continued catching fish with illegally set large trap nets in the rivers of the coastal area and the shore of the Bay of Bengal, posing threat to different species of marine as well as sweet water fish.

She has become the only fisherwoman with licence to catch hilsa in Barishal division after securing a place in the traditionally male-dominated fishing industry.

The huge quantities of garbage collected from the district town is left in the open space on the Lawkathi river, causing serious environment pollution and posing health hazard for the locals.

Academic activities at Patuakhali Government College is badly hampered as only 66 teachers are working there for around 15,000 students.

Over 200 congested structures built near Zero Point of Kuakata sea beach badly affects natural beauty of the famous tourist spot, in addition to impeding free movement of visitors.