Sushanta Ghosh

The death of 30-year-old apprentice lawyer Rejaul Karim Reja in custody on January 3, which sparked outrage in Barishal city, has led to an outpouring of accounts by locals of a sub-inspector’s many transgressions.

Barishal division is on way to host a third economic zone in Hijla upazila, a remote area by the Meghna river some 60 kilometres south of Dhaka, giving local people and businesses hope at generating economic activities and employment opportunities.

The family of the apprentice lawyer, who died in a prison cell of a hospital after alleged torture by members of Detective Branch of police, was able to file a murder case yesterday with a Barishal court that ordered the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) to probe the incident.

Relatives of apprentice lawyer Rejaul Karim Reja, who died in a prison cell of a Barishal hospital, yesterday alleged that Kotwali police did not record a murder case against three members of Detective Brach of police.

A 30-year-old student of law died in custody four days after he was arrested by the Detective Branch of police in Barisal.

The iconic raised index finger during his historic March 7, 1971 speech has become somewhat of a template for artistic depictions of Bangabandhu

People of the minority community in Jambudwip village of Barishal’s Banaripara upazila are passing days amid insecurity as they claim that they are being continuously harassed by an influential group.

The simple skill of turning naturally available materials into utilitarian products has been passed down since ancient civilisations, but still awaits the right initiatives in Bangladesh for all potential to be utilised.

The horror and the deaths had turned it into hell on earth in 1971.

The lone RT-PCR machine of Barishal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College has remained out of order for five days, suspending coronavirus test at the medical institution.

Almost all the CCTV cameras installed in Barishal city’s roads have gone out of order. This means the city streets now lie unsupervised and vulnerable, said residents, fearing a spike in crime.

When Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (VISTA) started a dredging operation to remove silt from Barishal River Port around October 16, they expected it to be over by now. However, more than a month later, not even half of the works could be completed.

Three days into the death of senior ASP Anisul Karim allegedly due to beating by staffers of Mind Aid Psychiatry and De-Addiction Hospital in the capital’s Adabor, four of its shareholders are still on the run.

At Babuganj upazila’s Mirganj river, a three-storey ship was spotted anchored at the dock during a recent visit by this correspondent. What seemed like a passenger vessel at first glance turned out to be a floating medical facility that treats some 90-150 patients a day.

The 22-day ban on hilsa catching was a success, officials of Department of Fisheries (DoF) claimed after the ban period’s end yesterday.

Several potholes that have developed on the pontoon at Barishal river port is putting the thousands of passengers rushing across it every day at risk of accidents.

A tense situation is prevailing at Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) in Barishal industrial area for the last one month ever since some industrialists and industries were allegedly attacked by miscreants, demanding extortion.

Egg-laying season has already arrived for the mother hilsa in Barishal region and to ensure their safety, the authorities concerned have taken necessary steps to prevent netting. According to the fisheries department, things are going smooth so far, with the mother fish laying more eggs than expected in rivers of the southern region.

Like every other South Asian, Gurudas Banerjee, alias Shyamal, was expected to take up the helm of the family once he finished his studies at Barishal’s Uzirpur upazila.

Sugarcane cultivation is becoming increasingly popular in Barishal division due to favourable growing conditions in the region, according to officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension.