Police arrested two youths along with four crude bombs from a bus stand in the district town on Saturday.The arrestees were Al Amin, 18, and Imran, 18, of Nagarbaria village in Alamdanga upazila of Chuadanga district.Being tipped-off, a team of police conducted a drive in the area around 5:45 pm and arrested the duo along with the bombs, said sub-inspector Apurba of Sadar Police Station.The arrestees confessed to police that they were going to Savar from Chuadanga to reach the bombs to a man. A case was filed. -UNB, RajbariStudents need knowledge about biodiversity conservation, climate change issues Speakers at a workshop said the school and college level students need update knowledge about the importance of biodiversity and natural resource conservation and climate change issues so that they can contribute to this field since their study life.They viewed there is no way but to natural resource conservation in the region particularly the vast Barind tract to face the adverse impact of climate change for the greater interests of new and future generation.In the wake of abnormal declining of natural resources like native crop seeds, fish and birds species and other wildlife, conservation of natural resources has become indispensable for addressing the adverse
impacts of climate change.Rajshahi Collegiate School organized the workshop styled “Role of Biodiversity Conservation in Protecting Environment” held at its Social Science and Environment Laboratory Saturday. More than 60 students of the school, among others concerned, attended the workshop. Divisional Forest Officer (Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation division) Mollah Rezaul Karim addressed the workshop as focal person with Dr Nurjahan Begum, Headmistress of the school, in the chair.Chief Engineer of Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology Rashedul Islam, Director of the laboratory Jahangir Alam Shah and environmentalists Abdur Razzaque Nasim and Monsur Rahman also spoke on the occasion.Mollah Rejaul Karim referred to evidence-based method to support natural resource conservation in the dried area and its prospects and challenges.Obviously, we have to devise ways and means on how to cope with the adverse impact of climate change. Integrated approach has become an urgent need to mitigate the adverse impact, he said.Mollah viewed that many native crop and vegetable varieties are gradually being replaced with high yielding varieties which are also harmful to our natural ecosystem and public health.Dr Nurjahan Begum says there were many indigenous paddy varieties which required less or no irrigation. But, the Eco-friendly varieties are now on the verge of extinction due to wide-ranging promotion of hybrid and high yielding varieties.
She added that the promoted varieties consume large irrigation and chemical fertilizer and pesticides which are detrimental to environment.
Apart from this, most of the native fish species particularly the small indigenous ones are on the margin of extinction due to massive absorption of exotic ones.Dr Begum stated that the rain-fed transplanted Aman paddy has now become totally depended on irrigation that triggers huge pressure on
underground water table which becomes a common concern.Time has come to build wider network among the educational institutions and creating platform for open dialogue to initiate regional research programmes on regional problems and solution.Importance should be given to capacity building to address climate change in the region with special reference to conservation of drought tolerant species. -BSS, Rajshahi
