Tuesday, April 29th, 2008The depression in the southwest and adjoining southeast parts of the Bay of Bengal has turned into a cyclonic storm and may cross the Bangladesh coast after four to five days.Met Office has advised farmers in a special weather bulletin, to take measures for early harvest of the Boro paddy, if possible, before Cyclone Nargis hits.The cyclone remains almost stationary 1210 km off Cox's Bazar coast, 1280 km away from Chittagong and 1200 km away from Mongla, according to Met Office at 6:00pm yesterday.Nargis is the first cyclonic storm in the Bay since the deadly Sidr in November ...
(read more) Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007Department of Environment (DoE) has primarily identified 155 hilly areas in Chittagong Division that were subjected to illegal hill cutting, and listed over 200 individuals, organisations and business groups as plunderers of hills.Former fisheries and livestock minister Abdullah Al Noman and detained Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) Mayor ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury, Chittagong City Corporation (CCC), Kafco and KEPZ and Abul Khair Group are on the DoE list.The list is based on information collected by seven DoE teams through field visits in Chittagong, Cox's Bazar and the three hill districts of Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban, DoE Director Nazmul Hoque told The Daily ...
(read more) Saturday, June 23rd, 2007 The army-led joint forces in Chittagong arrested former BNP lawmaker Sarwar Jamal Nizam, suspected of masterminding the abduction and killing of businessman Jamaluddin Chowdhury, early Friday. The Rapid Action Battalion said it had arrested Jamal at a place near the Chittagong Club in the city at about 00:45am for his suspected involvement in various crimes. The battalion also seized his vehicle along with five cans of beer and three bottles of foreign liquor. The former lawmaker was sent to jail on Friday night. Metropolitan magistrate, Maksudur Rahman, ordered him to be sent ...
(read more) Monday, June 18th, 2007Several quarters comprising influential political leaders, former ministers, criminals, big business houses and even government and autonomous bodies have been involved in massive cutting or razing of vast terrains of hills in Chittagong.City dwellers have been surprised over the past few years to see the brazen defiance of law and disregard for the country's interest in the activities of these political big shots and businessmen.The political figures include former commerce minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, former food minister and BNP Joint Secretary General Abdullah-Al Noman, Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) Mayor ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury, and former civil aviation minister Mir Mohammad ...
(read more) Sunday, June 17th, 2007Over 50 thousand people living in different foothill slums in the port city are under serious risks of falling an easy victim to landslides, especially during the rains. The latest study carried out by Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) reveals that some one lakh out of 14 lakh disadvantaged people, mostly factory workers, day labourers, or self-employed in different informal sectors, are living in some 1,814 slums in the port city.Of them, over 50 thousand live in the slums situated at the risky and treacherous slopes or bottom of hills where they can rent rooms at cheaper rates but safety of ...
(read more) Saturday, June 16th, 2007Hill cutting in Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagrachhari continues unabated despite mudslides every so often during the monsoon in a chilling reminder of the disastrous consequences that it could leave.Forest office sources said the senseless act disregarding the government prohibition poses serious threat to over three lakh human lives, ecology and biodiversity of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). The department of environment banned levelling hills in 2005.Mudslides triggered by monsoons killed at least two people and injured 20 others at sadar and Lama upazilas of Bandarban district in the last three days. Besides, mudflows have caused extensive damage to many houses ...
(read more) Wednesday, June 13th, 2007Rescuers yesterday dragged out 20 more bodies from the ruins left by Monday's devastating landslides in Chittagong as the death toll rose to 106.The day before the joint forces teamed up with the fire-fighters recovered 86 bodies from across the port city.Of those recovered yesterday, 18 were from Lebu Bagan, and two from Kaichyaghona.As of last night, 56 people were confirmed to have died at Lebu Bagan, Kaichyaghona and Sekander colony, all adjoining the Chittagong cantonment under Hathazari upazila, said sources in the joint forces.The rescue operation was on till filing of this report late in the evening.Talking to The ...
(read more) Tuesday, June 12th, 2007At least 84 people were killed and hundreds more injured and missing as torrential rains sparked a series of devastating landslides in Chittagong , plunging the country's second city into chaos, with power supplies snapped, the port and airport closed and residents seeking safety on their roofs.The heaviest rainfall in quarter of a century saturated the hillsides in and around the city giving residents no chance to escape when a tide of mud and water swept down on their homes in the early hours of yesterday morning, burying whole families under mud and debris while they slept. The powerful current ...
(read more) Tuesday, June 12th, 2007Indiscriminate hill cutting during the last three decades has led to the disappearance of over one hundred hills and partial destruction of hundreds others in Chittagong city, causing environmental hazards and raising the incidence of landslide, experts said. Landslides in last two days killed at least 70 people in the port city, raising such death toll during the last three decades to over 200.Experts attribute such landslides mainly to the hill cutting, said persons working in the field."We warned several times that the places where landslide occurred had become vulnerable due to hill cutting. But proper measures were ...
(read more) Saturday, June 9th, 2007Cancelling the option of Dhaka-Chittagong electric train service, the caretaker government is considering setting up a shorter train line at the cost of $1.1 billion for reducing the time and cost of the journey between the capital and the premier port city.A recent feasibility study conducted by the Bangladesh Railway found that a direct train line between Laksam and Fatullah can shorten the time for Dhaka-Chittagong journey to three hours whereas it takes six to seven hours now.Three major railway bridges over Meghna, Gumti and Shitalakhya rivers will have to be constructed for the purpose.Setting up of a new ...
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