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Bad condition of roads, erratic supply of electricity, shortage of potable water and poor drainage system are some of the problems disturbing the civic life of the people of Maheshpur municipality in Jhenaidah.
   Established in 1869, this oldest municipality has failed to provide minimumcivic amenities to its inhabitants.
   Most of the metalled and earthen roads in the municipal area are in a pitiable condition at present. These roads have developed cracks and potholes at many points making the plying of all kinds of transports risky. Even the commuters walking on foot have to face move with caution to avert accidents.
   Local people apprehended that the condition of these roads would deteriorate further during the rainy season.
   Irregular supply of electricity and low voltage have also added to the woes of its residents. Power outage has of late become a regular feature in this municipality. All activities at public and private organisations, educational institutions and households suffer badly when the power trips abruptly.
   Some people said their television and radio sets, computers and refrigerators were damaged due to frequent fluctuation of power.
   Only 12 per cent people of this municipality have access to drinking water through pipeline.88 per cent of the people of the municipality using tube well water are now exposed to various health hazards as arsenic was detected in many of them.
   There are 700 hand tube wells and two deep tube wells in this municipality to meet the demand of drinking water.
   The roadside drains are unable to discharge waste as well as rainwater smoothly as they are heavily clogged with filth and garbage. Water overflows these drains even after a light rainfall.
   The municipality has a total number of 6,820 households. Of them, 1,898 use sanitary latrine. The inhabitants of 102 households defecate either at open spaces or at nearby bushes because they are too poor to afford sanitary latrine.
   When contacted, Shafiqul Azam Khan Chanchal, Chairman of the Maheshpur Municipality, said he has received an allocation of Tk 5.70 crore from the Bangladesh Municipality Development Fund for the overall development of the municipality. The amount would be spent in phases for the construction and reconstruction of roads, improvement of drainage system, building of kitchen markets and development of infrastructures in other sectors. Tk 77 lakh has been set aside for the implementation of some programmes in the first phase, he added.

The farmers in Gopalganj are satisfied with the production of boro paddy this year.
   About sixty per cent of the boro paddy has already been harvested in the district.
   The farmers have utilised all their cultivable lands for the production of boro paddy this season to compensate the losses of crops last year. Standing crops on vast tracts of land in Gopalganj as in many other districts of the country were damaged last year by prolonged flood and heavy rainfall
   The farmers said they preferred hybrid paddy this year to recoup their losses of crops last year.
   The rainfall at the initial stage of cultivation helped a lot for the healthy growth of the boro plants, they said.
   According to the Department of Agriculture Extension Office here, the boro cultivation in the district has exceeded the target this year.
   The target of land for boro cultivation in five upazilas in the district was 66,800 hectares whereas it was cultivated on 68,150 hectares of land.
   The boro paddy was cultivated on 15,600 hectares at sadar, 13,340 hectares at Muksudpur, 9,000 hectares at Kashiani, 21,950 hectares at Kotalipara and 8,260 hectares at Tungipara upazilas.
   The boro production increased considerably in the district due to cultivation of hybrid paddy.
   The BADC sources at Gopalganj said 450 tonnes of seed were distributed among the farmers this year under the Agri-rehabilitation programme in the district.
   According to the farmers, favourable weather contributed to the bumper production of boro paddy this season.
   The prices of different varieties of paddy have already come down after the arrival of the newly harvested paddy in the markets.
   The DAE officials said the target of boro production at five upazilas in the district was 3,95,647 tonnes. But the production exceeded the target this season.

The Gopalganj Police arrested 3 robbers and two traders in gold in Gopalganj town Sunday and recovered one motorcycle, 66 grams of gold ornaments and two cameras.
   The Gopalganj Police said the robbers looted a motorcycle from the house of Hajee Jamal Uddin at Chandmari road in Gopalganj town Saturday midnight.
   Later the Gopalganj police arrested 3 robbers with the stolen motorcycle from Naragati under Narail Sunday morning.
   The arrested persons were, Selim alias Rafique Hawlader, 34, son of Hossain Ali Hawlader of Adajuri village under Nazirpur upazila in Pirojpur, Haider Sheikh,35, son of Sheikh Mohiuddin of village Sener Bazaar under Rupsha upazila in Khulna and Rahman alias Habibur Rahman, 45, son of Taslim Uddin of village Krishna Nagar under Bathiaghata upazila in Khulna.
   On the basis of their confession the police also arrested two gold traders from Gopalganj town Sunday. They used to buy stolen gold from the robbers.
   The arrested gold traders were Kalipada Karmaker, owner
   of Uzzal Jewellers in Gopalganj town and his son Uzzal
   karmaker.
   A case was filed with the Gopalganj Police Station in this connection and the arrested persons were sent to the district jail.

A minor girl, who sustained burn injuries on Wednesday at Satkhanda village in Golapganj upazila, died at Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital Friday.
   Hospital sources said Johnny, 4, daughter of Rahim received serious burn injuries when she was caught by fire from an oil lamp in the morning.

A monthly meeting of the Law and Order Situation Committee held at the conference room of the Deputy Commissioner’s office was told that the harassment of women and of female students on their way to schools and colleges has of late increased in Comilla town.
   Young women and students moving at Jhowtala, station road, Nazrul avenue, Badurtala, Women College Road, Farida Biddaaiton area, Thomsom bridge, Borjjapur Road, Degree College Road, South Chharta and head post office are harassed by some youths who gather there with ill motive.
   Harassment of the female students has become rampant in the town as no action was taken against the wayward youths.
   The guardians often hesitate to send their daughters to schools and colleges for fear of harassment by these youths.
   There are five womens’ colleges, eight girls’high schools and many primary schools in Comilla town where at least 6,250 female students have been studying.
   The girl students while crossing the different roads on their way to and from schools and colleges often fall prey to them.
   The authorities concerned have been asked to take proper steps in this regard.

There has been a bumper production of litchis in Chapainawabganj this season to the satisfaction of the growers and delight of the buyers.
   Litchis of local variety are available in plenty in local markets at cheap prices. The improved varieties of litchis are expected to appear in the markets within a few days, according to litchi traders.
   The officials of the department of agriculture extension said the farmers of the district have taken to the cultivation of improved varieties of litchis on commercial basis for the last several years side by side with mangoes. The litchi gardens have mushroomed at different areas of the district over the years.
   They informed that this seasonal fruit was now being grown on 165 hectares of land containing 20,000 trees.
   Besides the local variety,the farmers are growing Bombay,China-3, Bedana, Muzaffar and BARI varieties of litchis which are very sweet and tasty.
   The litchi traders said though the production of mangoes was not up to the mark in the district this year, it has witnessed bumper production of litchis this season. The litchi growers were getting remunerative prices for their produce , they added.
   Each tree on an average bears 4,000 litchis. On this basis, the total number of production of this seasonal fruit in Chapainawabganj stands at eight crore worth Tk 10 to 12 crore.
   After meeting the local demand, the litchis of this region are being supplied to different markets in Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Sylhet and other districts.
   A report from our Moulvibazar correspondent said the district has a great potential of producing different varieties of litchis on commercial basis
   as its climate and soil are suitable for the luxuriant growth of this seasonal fruit.
   The DAE sources said the hilly lands at different upazilas have bright prospect of the cultivation of litchis on commercial basis.
   There has been a bumper production of litchis this season at Barshijura and Sunapur under sadar, Kalenga,Bhanugas and Shamsernagar under Kamalganj, Brahmanbazar under Kulaura, Munhsibazar under Rajnagar and hilly lands under Srimangal upazilas.
   A bunch of 100 litchis costs Tk 20 to 90 in local markets according to size and quality.
   Local people said they have no idea of modern method of cultivation of this particular fruit.
   The production of litchis would go up substantially if modern method of cultivation was adopted, according to the DAE officials.
   Dr.Anawarul Islam Khan, chief scientific officer of the agriculture research centre at Akbarpur, said the hilly lands of Moulvibazar and climate of the region were most suitable for the cultivation of litchis.
   Some officials of the agriculture department suggested that fallow lands in the hilly areas of the district should be leased out to interested farmers for the cultivation of litchis on commercial basis.
   Talking to New Age,Akmal Ali of village Sunapur under sadar upazila,said
   investment in the plantation of litchi trees was low but the return was high.
   He earned a profit of Tk 70,000 from his litchi garden this year by investing Tk 20,000.

Jute cultivation in Joypurhat is facing setback this season due to price hike and acute scarcity of jute seeds.
   The farmers said that they became unnerved as the Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) failed to supply adequate seeds this season.
   Taking advantage of the situation, a section of dishonest traders are deceiving the growers by selling low quality Indian jute seeds at high prices at different hats and bazars, they added.
   Farmers said, per kilogram substandard Indian imported seed is being sold between Tk 1,000 and Tk 1,200 in the local markets against the previous price of Tk 300.

An old man was killed in a road accident at Jurabanda of Kurigram-Chilmari road in Kurigram Sunday.
   The deceased was identified as Nagendranath Mohanto, 70, of Aduar Khata village in Ulipur upazila.
   Locals said a Kurigram bound bus hit the bicycle of Nagendra and ran over him at 8:00am while he was going to Ulipur upazila headquarters.. He died on the spot. The driver managed to flee with the bus.
   A case was filed with police.

Two sawmill workers were arrested for violating a minor girl at Digoli village in Chhatak upazila on Saturday.
   The arrested were identified as Zahir Miah, 22, of Noarai village of the upazila and Helal, 19, of Mymensingh.
   They were workers of a sawmill at Gobindaganj in the upazila.