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About 1,200 tonnes of litchi are likely to be produced from roughly 8,291 trees in Meherpur this season surpassing the last year’s output.
   Litchis are grown abundantly at sadar and Gangni upazilas in the district as the soil there is suitable for this seasonal fruit.
   Ramnagar, Mahajanpur and Kedarganj are some of the villages which produce enough high quality litchi. Bombai, China-3 and Mojaffar varieties have high demand to the
   people.
   A bunch of 100 litchi costs Tk 80 to 90 while China-3 sells at Tk 90 to 100 per bunch.
   The DAE sources here said the volume of litchi production could be substantially increased in this district and other parts of the country if the farmers adopted modern method of its production.
   The litchi trees needed water, pesticides and other inputs at different stages. But farmers supplied water and applied pesticides according to their sweet will, the sources added.
   The sources further said that water should be supplied to litchi trees in the months of October and November before flowering in late February.
   But the litchi growers were unable to take proper care of the litchi trees because of their ignorance.
   The DAE officials were of the view that the litchi production in the whole of the country could be raised several times from the present level if the growers were imparted training on the care and maintenance of the trees.
   Most of the litchi growers said they were compelled to sell their produce at cheap prices because of the lack of marketing and preservation facilities.

The construction of the new Dhaka-Sylhet highway through a new route has mounted the woes of the passengers and businessmen of Moulvibazar and Srimangal.
   With the construction of the new highway, its old portion has lost much of its importance.
   As a result, the passengers of Moulvibazar and Srimangal have to avail themselves of the inter-district buses from either Shayestaganj or Sherpur which are 35 to 50 kilometres away from these two places.
   Local sources said the newly constructed Dhaka-Sylhet highway was opened a few months ago through the Nabiganj-Shayestaganj-Jagadishpur route abandoning the old Sherpur-Moulvibazar Srimangal-Mirpur route.
   At the initial stage, the new high-way was to pass through the old portion. But later the idea was abandoned for unknown reasons.
   All classes of people including businessmen of Moulvibazar and Srimangal have to come to Shayestaganj or Sherpur for catching inter-district buses.
   The incoming passengers also have to get down at the new points to reach their destinations at Moulvibazar and Srimangal.
   Some businessmen said the cost of carrying goods to and from Moulvibazar and Srimangal has gone up substantially after the opening of the new highway through Shayestaganj and Sherpur points
   The Moulvibazar District Development Council has called for connecting the new Dhaka-Sylhet highway with the old portion by developing it for the smooth journey of the people of Moulvibazar and Srimangal as well as smooth transport of commercial and industrial goods.

Some 755 extremely poor people, who were grovelling in the mire of abject poverty at different places in Panchagarh, have now become self-reliant by engaging themselves in income generating activities with the micro credit of an NGO.
   In the past, these assetless people of sadar, Tentulia, Atwari and Debiganj upazilas depended on the charity and help of others for their livelihood.
   But the micro credit offered by the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee radically changed their lot for the better.
   With the micro credit from the BRAC, they started various income generating programmes such as poultry farming, cow fattening, goat rearing, horticulture, vegetable farming, bakery and making of sanitary napkins.
   Of the total hard pressed people, 385 took to cow rearing, 119 goat farming, 51 small enterprises and 151 vegetable farming.
   Another 2,700 poverty ridden people under five upazilas of the district have been included in the BRAC’s poverty alleviation programme of the current year.
   Some programmes have also been taken up for the uplift of the poorest section of womenfolk in the district.
   The programmes include creation of mass awareness about health, sanitation, education and care of pregnant women.
   As many as 500 sanitary latrines and 41 tube wells have been set up in the district under the sanitation programme.
   About 400 poor patients of the district were provided treatment free of cost, the BRAC sources said.

A total of 1,376 projects are being implemented in nine upazilas of Kurigram during the current fiscal year.
   The projects include food for work, test relief (TR) and work for taka (kabita) programmes for rural development.
   For the projects 1,561 tonnes of food grains and Tk 3 crore 39 lakh 92 thousand 36 were allocated, according to official sources.
   The projects, which near completion, are supervised by the Kurigram relief and rehabilitation department.
   About 80 per cent work of the projects has already been completed and the rest will
   be completed in this month
   or the next, sources said.
   People hope that after the completion of the projects, communication system in rural areas of the district will be developed.
   The district relief and rehabilitation department started the projects in December, 2004 in the poverty-stricken areas as a temporary step for employment of poor people as well as developing rural infrastructure.
   According to sources, 846 tonnes TR (special) were allocated against 620 projects, 28 tonnes TR against 22 projects, 687 tonnes food grains against 49 projects.
   Besides, Tk 46 lakh 30 thousand was sanctioned against 403 projects of TR (finance), Tk 91 lakh 57 thousand 36 against 77 projects of food for work (general), Tk 2 crore 2 lakh 5 thousand against 195 projects of food for work (special).
   The projects are going on in full swing, though the bills are not paid. The bills for work will be paid after 100 per cent completion of work, concerned officials said.
   Sources said, 75 tonnes of rice have been allocated against 7 projects and 12 tonnes of rice against 10 TR projects under food for work (general) at Rajarhat upazila.
   Besides, Tk 10 lakh 1 thousand 354 against 10 kabita projects, Tk 9 lakh against 11 projects of food for work (special), Tk 33 lakh 30 thousand against 12 kabita (special) projects and Tk 1 lakh 64 thousand against 18 projects of TR (finance) have been allocated in the upazila.

A mortar shell used by the British soldiers in the Second World War was recovered from Puran Pallan Para in Teknaf.
   A local woodcutter saw the mortar shell on Friday morning when he went to the adjacent hills to collect wood.
   Later being informed 23 Rifle Battalion stationed at Teknaf recovered the mortar shell and detained the woodcutter Jafar Alam (18) for grilling.
   Sources said the shell was found on the ground at Jadir Tala area of Puran Pallan Para.
   Two grenades also have been recovered from that area. The grenades were recovered on Thursday morning from the courtyard of a house at Pallan Para when digging was being carried out there to find hidden treasures.
   Policemen and BDR members have been deployed at Puran Pallan Para.

The Lalmonirhat Municipality was elevated to 1st class status.
   The president of Bangladesh sent a letter to the municipality authorities in this regard on May 2.
   The letter reached the office on May 7. The municipality was established in 1972 and it got 2nd class status in 1995.
   Hearing the news of upgradation of the municipality, Lalmonirhat town dwellers burst into cheers. In some places sweetmeats were distributed.
   The municipal chairman, Mosharaf Hossain Rana, thanked all on the auspicious occasion.

The mighty Meghna devoured at least 50 houses at Jamuna Ghat area near Chandpur Town Protection Dam.
   The erosion started at midnight on Friday and continued till filing this report at 10 am on Saturday.
   Hundreds of families have shifted their houses to other places in fear of further erosion.
   Being informed Water Development Board officials visited the spot. In the morning RCC blocks were thrown into the river to stop further erosion.
   Local sources said about 12 hundred families will lose their houses if the erosion continues.